Plato’s Theory of Ideas: Understanding Reality and Knowledge
Belief: “Knowledge” that rests on natural things and not copies thereof. So is the top level of the opinion. By relying on the senses, it cannot be authentically knowledge. It is the field of natural research.
Relegation Back to the Cave
He who has agreed to a higher life and knowledge feels sorry for the sad existence of his former colleagues. So I will come down to teach the truth to his former colleagues. It is the image of the philosopher who decides to govern instead of dwelling on the “island of the blessed”, consisting of those who have attained the truth. That decline also requires a phased adjustment of the hearing, and therefore shows the object awkward and ridiculed, especially when he says something that is unintelligible: that true reality is beyond the cave.
Demonic Elevation
Plato describes two types of glare that we have all had the opportunity to experience: the one that occurs when going from the bright to dark and that is exactly the opposite reason. The effect is very similar but are completely different: the first is a reason for admiration, while the second of pity. It is very obvious that Plato has in mind the process of Socrates, that he behaved awkwardly before the cavern of the courts, for lack of custom in the shadows of justice to argue about who had never before seen the Court itself.
In Itself
The formula “as such” Plato used repeatedly in his dialogues to express the absolute nature of the ideas, but also to refer to the self-sufficiency of mathematical entities. Construction is usual with the noun or the adjective. It is opposed to the “otherwise” characteristic of the material world. Justice is not justice in itself, it appears to be limited by the presence of the material. Things just have its case of justice not in themselves but “other”: on the Idea of Justice. This itself is just absolutely, without limitation.
Steep, Steep Slope
The costly and difficult transition from opinion to knowledge. It is education itself, which is never easy and full of obstacles and therefore not accessible to anyone.
Essence
That which is to be permanent, and therefore can not fail but never necessarily underlies any change. So what some define as that which answered the question “What is this?” And reflected in the definition. In Plato, it is equivalent to “Idea”: the essence of any multiplicity is the common idea of it (the idea of a cat is the essence of all cats).
Intelligible Species
Realities that lack material and shape the intelligible field of mathematical entities and ideas.
Supreme Study
That which is the superior knowledge aims at a higher reality: the Idea of Good. This is the last stage of the dialectic and noesis.
Exist
Have real and true. We can distinguish two aspects in humans: the essence (that which is contained in a definition) and the fact exist. A gradation of beings in Plato from these two concepts would be the next:
- Beings with essence but no existence, as the extinct species (like dinosaurs)
- Ones with essence and existence quota (that may cease to exist at any time): as sentient beings
- Those now with essence and existence are necessary: the Ideas
- Those with essence and existence are necessary: the Good, which is a fully exist without restrictions
Dialectic Faculty
This expression refers to the ability Plato higher cognitive through which ideas are known. That is, intelligence-noesis.
Glare: glare and brightness
Curio: something of little value or entity.
Genesis: birth, origin. It is a characteristic of sentient beings to express their being immersed in time and, therefore, its contingency and unreality. Immutable and eternal only has true reality in Plato.
Ideas
These are eternal realities, intangible and immutable. They are the cause and essence of the material world (material things are or mimic Ideas). Exist by themselves independently of men, which is limited only to discover its existence. All areas of Platonic philosophy (anthropology, epistemology, ethics, political theory, metaphysics, aesthetics, etc.) have as its starting point the theory of Ideas.
Idea of Good
The top of all the Platonic philosophy. No one is in a position of preeminence to other ideas (all of which participate in the Well), but is also responsible for the essence of each idea without her very essence. If ideas are the perfect archetypes (which mimic sensible things), it is perfectly logical to that (the Good) is the common quality to all of them. What takes this idea but the very perfection of Good Idea? It is unimaginable that an idea did not have among its attributes the good or perfection, so all are participated by the Supreme Idea.
Image
Duplicate representations of sensible reality. It is the lowest level of being. Images are reflections and shadows. There are two ways to deal with them, taking them as images (i.e. what they are: a copy of a copy, no true reality of its own) or as something real, in which case that is at the level of conjecture (eikasia), which is a deeper ignorance.
Intelligible: comprehend, understand, have little understanding
Intelligence (Noesis)
It is practical wisdom to guide us in life, as distinguished from theoretical or noesis intelligence. Practical intelligence is that which makes us opt for a study or other, choose a style of life, set priorities, etc. According to your moral intellectualism. For Plato, all practical intelligence theory depends on intelligence.
Intelligence (Noesis)
Faculty of ideas intuitively know. Through it, the rational soul completes the process of knowledge.
Liberation from Chains
We describe this release from an external element (with an undeniable element of coercion) and gradually. That is, he is referring to education, which gives us tools to master the more spontaneous and stultifying tendencies to resist the seduction of the sensitive material and achieving access to a higher existence.
What It Is
In this passage, it refers to the ideas, but also includes mathematical entities. It is an expression borrowed from Parmenides (“being what it is.”) Parmenides was a decisive influence on Plato. In fact, intelligible beings (the ideas and mathematical entities) bear the traits of Parmenides (except the material and the fact that one reality). Plato with this term refers to Ideas as that which are the facts really are (with attributes of the being: identity, eternity, immutability, etc.) against beings of the sensible world, characterized by instability, contingency, its ongoing evolution.
To Look at Things Up
This expression refers to Plato’s episteme or science.
Multiplicity
It is characteristic of sentient beings and “distinguish the language” through the use of the plural. All multiplicity is referred to an idea that gives unity (all have in common fir their participation in the Idea of Spruce) and essence (the Idea of spruce fir is the reality). Therefore the sensible world as it is for the multiplicity to the intelligible unity
Need to get used to the light before looking at the objects themselves: Plato thinks math cultivation as a necessary preparation to dialectics. Remember remember the inscription that was placed at the door of his academy “does not come one here who is not a geometer.”
Opinion (Doxa)
Knowledge through the senses, or what is the same knowledge of the sensible world of appearances. It is subdivided into Imagination (eikasia) and Belief (pistis). When dealing with beings that lack of stability can not provide robust and accurate knowledge of science (episteme).
Discursive Thought (Dianoia)
Through it are known mathematical entities. “Discourse” refers to the deductive chain in which it is based. In this sense is opposed to “intuitive”, which is a direct and unmediated.
Principle
The foundation, cause, origin. In the mathematical principles are used as assumptions, so the conclusions reached are not principles, are only conditionally valid. In the dialectic, on the contrary, the principle is really the foundation of the course. This amount (see comments in text or annex IV) until the latter does of course, that is Good.
Pleasure
Nice feeling. In Plato is located in the less noble souls: concupiscible. Why can not aspire to be the supreme good. Plato is present in the text discussions on this topic developed by the Sophistic and Cyrenaic school founded by Aristippus of Cyrene, who was also a disciple of Socrates.
Apply To
To place a proposition whose truth is accepted without evidence that is necessary for serve as a basis in subsequent reasoning. In this passage, Plato posits that each manifold refers to a unit to meet both requirements: a) is a statement that does not show. B) taking a starting point to build the analogy of the Sun with the Good.
Prisoner: recalls the condition of man, being relentlessly captured by the senses. Most of humanity remains imprisoned lifetime of error, bias, handling, while a minority gets released and become a philosopher.
Wisdom exists there: say, a mere knowledge of mere shadows of reality.
Invisible beings / visible beings: they are the beings who belong respectively to the intelligible world and the sensible world. The first consists of the ideas and mathematical entities. The second as sentient beings and images.
Lord of this: the lord of light, i.e., the Sun
Strong Belief
To define the “look” 2 skills to speak of it: take it as spurious or real. “Solid” belief is the mindset of who takes on the appearance in the first sense, in this way opens the possibility to use belief as a springboard to the real knowledge. So who covers the imperfect embodiments of justice in the world of sense and realizes he does not know the true Justice, you can move up to her. The ascent to the beautiful in platonic love is a good example of process congnoscitivo from “strong belief”, just take each level (a beautiful body, physical beauty, beauty, psychic, moral standards, knowledge) not as a point of arrival but as a means to continue the dialectical ascent of the soul.
Shadows: This is the lowest level of the doxa: the eikasia dealing with copies of copies of reality.
Assumption: this is a tentative hypothesis. In mathematics works as a premise of the deduction later, so its validity is not justified (hence that Plato says are taken as principles). In the dialectic, however, the course if course is considered, i.e. finds the principle on which it depends.
Unit
It is an essential attribute of Ideas. The unit carries both the immutability and indestructibility, the permanence, immortality (How will destroy, or de-compose something not composed?). Objects the sensible world, the reality comes to them from outside, can not aspire to simplicity, as they are made of matter and its participation in Idea. To refer to the true self (Ideas), Plato often uses the formula autonomous autonomous kaza: “the same way about himself.” Therefore, being is equal to self-identity, unity, immobility.
Offspring of the Good
Plato refers to the Sun calls him “son of Good” in two senses: literal and metaphorical. In the first sense it is a concretion of good in the world of sense. The sun is part of Good to the point that it is the ultimate physical reality, therefore plays a role in the sensible world order (making possible life and sense knowledge.) But at the same time represents himself well, as Good as “a self-similar begotten.” Indeed there is a clear parallel between the role of good in the intelligible world and the sun in the sensible world.
Truth
It is considered from an ontological perspective, i.e. as an objective property of reality. Not therefore relates to the validity of the knowledge possessed by a subject (etymological perspective). It is a sense that survives today in our speech when we speak of “a real father,” a real team, “a real vacation” etc. The well is due both to the Truth (or intelligibility) and science (intelligence with which you can access Truth wing). Therefore, the truth belongs to the intelligible beings (the real knowledge is concerned only with mathematical entities and Ideas). However, in the allegory of Plato uses the line “Truth” in a relative sense, to say that the divisions of the line are always related, so the top is the “Truth” from the bottom. That is literally true if we compare the intelligible world to the sensible, but it is in the claim that sentient beings are the “Truth” of images. This is only a relative truth, as sentient beings do not have their truth in itself, if not the intelligible world.