Explain Plato's Response To The Pre-Socratics

681 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Plato's Theory of Forms

How could Plato’s theory of Forms be considered a response to the pre-Socratics? Then explain Aristotle’s response to Plato’s theory of Forms. Which response seems more convincing to you and why Plato could be responding to the pre-Socratics by agreeing with their findings. I believe that Plato was making an argument based off the things that he learned from his teacher who studied some of the pre-Socratics work. Plato’s Theory of Form is in relation by inspiration from pre-Socratic, with Heraclitus statement of the world always in change and Parmenides statement that since the world is constantly changing the world we experience couldn't be real. Heraclitus and Parmenides and Plato all have similarities in beliefs to Plato's theory of forms the Forms and Appearance world. Plato could have come up with this theory because of …show more content…

The two levels are: the visible world of sights and sounds that we occupy and the intelligible world of Forms that stands above the visible world and gives it being. Plato says that we can identify a beautiful person or a beautiful painting, because we have a general conception of what Beauty is, and we are able to identify the beauty in a person or a painting only because we know what beauty is in the abstract. the Form of Beauty, for example, is that quality that all beautiful things share. The beautiful things we see are only beautiful because they partake in the overall Form of Beauty. Beauty in this form is eternal and unchanging. The Theory of Forms views a world of Forms that exists outside of time and space, where Beauty and the like exist unblemished by the changes and imperfections of the visible world. All the beauty in the world put together is the Form of Beauty. Plato himself was aware of the ambiguities and inconsistencies in his Theory of Forms, as is evident from the incisive criticism he makes of his own theory in the

Show More
Related

  • Plato's Criticism of Democracy

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    In summary, Plato's comments are incredibly perceptive and relevant: a lot of what he says has been proved true in one way or another throughout history. The transition of our own country from an early 19th century Oligarchy to the Democracy we have today seems to have been predicted by Plato over two thousand years ago. It may also be true that our contemporary politicians are to be ousted by the dissatisfied public, and replaced with a tyrannical dictator. Finally, though not everything Plato says is in concordance with what we can now see for ourselves, his ideas are still relevant in any study of modern politics.

    Read More

  • Plato Vs. Aristotle

    1899 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato's concept of what politics and government should be is a direct result of his belief in the theory of forms. The theory of forms basically states that there is a higher "form" for everything that exists in the world. Each material thing is simply a representation of the real thing which is the form. According to Plato, most people cannot see the forms, they only see their representation or their shadows, as in the simile of the cave.

    Read More

  • God Takes on the Form of the Good

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aristotle and Plato both believed that there were forces at work in nature which were beyond sight and not of the physical world and eternally present. What we call philosophy is really a second philosophy, due to these unseen forces. Plato, one of the world’s greatest philosophers, once had a ground breaking idea. He came forth with the idea of the Forms. These Forms were perfect and unchanging. Everything else in existence took various qualities from the Forms and used them to create their own shapes and purposes. There was one Form, however, that stood above all the rest. The Form of the Good. This is where Aristotle, Plato’s kindred student, related his idea of God to. Through reason and facts and many similarities, it is proven in great detail that these two ideas are one in the same. In addition to Plato and Aristotle, Istvan Bodnar make this claim:

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis of Plato's and Sartre's Views on Existence

    1820 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato’s view on existence can be understood by discussing his theory of Forms. The theory of Forms or Ideas is about the existence of ideas in higher form of reality, the existence of a reality inhabited by forms of all things and concepts. Plato used example of objects such as table and rock and concepts like Beauty and Justice to illustrate the notion of Forms. Plato further describes Forms as a being possessed by concepts. For example, Virtue has different characters; but they all have a common nature which makes them virtuous.

    Read More

  • Love and Beauty in Plato’s Phaedrus and Symposium

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    After studying the two dialogues, we’ve found that the concepts of love and beauty are inseparable in Plato’s philosophy. Love, despite not being beautiful in itself, is the love of beauty, and as love evolves, the lover ultimately acquire the ability to go through heaven to the realm of transcendental forms where Beauty lies.

    Read More

  • Conversation Between Plato and Aristotle

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Plato: When we discuss Forms we are not talking about something that is truly real but something that we would see or grasp intellectually. The idea of it is that what you are looking at may not be the true form of which you are looking at it. When you draw a circ...

    Read More

  • Pre-Socratic Influences In Plato

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    Therefore, many of the philosophers disagreed with each other and came up with very different answers for the same concepts. Plato also did not know the answers to all of the questions that arose in the pre-Socratic era. Plato decided to look back on the pre-Socratics era in particular at the philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides. He agreed with Heraclitus who believed our world is constantly changing and with Parmenides who believed that the real world is not the same as the world of our experience. Plato chose to look at materialism and also his theory of Forms in a two-world setting in order to attempt to answer the questions of the universe. The two worlds Plato is talking about are: a world that is in constant flux (the world we live in) and a world that is ever-changing (the real world, otherwise known as Forms). Plato’s Forms distinguishes things that are real from things in our mind that we perceive as real. Plato also made the argument that reality is different than our worldly experience. Plato believed that material objects can imitate the forms because they have order, however, Aristotle’s disagreed. However, Aristotle thought that Plato’s concept of “participation” didn’t make sense. Aristotle believed that the world we live in is our reality and he argued that Plato’s idea of forms

    Read More

  • Four Arguments For The World Of Life In Plato's Phaedo

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    He argues that non-physical forms or ideas represent the most accurate reality. There exists a fundamental opposition between in the world like the object as a concrete, sensible object and the idea or concept of the objects. Forms are typically universal concepts. The world of appearance corresponds to the body. The world of truth corresponds with the soul. According to Plato, for any conceivable thing or property there is a corresponding Form, a perfect example of that or property is a tree, house, mountain, man, woman, Table and Chair, would all be examples of existing abstract perfect Ideas. Plato says that true and reliable knowledge rests only with those who can comprehend the true reality behind the world of everyday experience. In order to perceive the world of the Forms, individuals must undergo a difficult

    Read More

  • Plato's Criticism of Democracy

    1688 Words  | 4 Pages

    Do not be angry with me for speaking the truth; no man will survive who genuinely opposes you or any other crowd and prevents the occurrence of many unjust and illegal happenings in the city. A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if he is to survive for even a short time. (Apology 31e-32a)

    Read More

  • Plato vs. Aristotle

    350 Words  | 1 Pages

    Firstly, Plato's concept of reality contrasts with Aristotle's concept. Plato's theory of ideal forms claims that a perfect world exists beyond the world around us. Our world contains forms imperfectly copied from the ideal forms of the world beyond. In contrast, Aristotle's theory of the natural world states that our world is reality. Aristotle thought the world consists of natural forms, not necessarily ideal or imperfect.

    Read More

  • Aristotle's Seven Requirements

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Metaphysics it states, “in some cases a syllogism is not necessarily form, and in others it follow that there will be Forms even of things of which we think hat no Forms exist” (Metaphysics, 990b10). For example, Plato’s argument will allow for relations to exist by themselves and it will also allow for a third man, but Aristotle denies this and says these things cannot be. Aristotle doesn’t know what Plato’s forms contribute for sensible things because they do not cause motion or change. Forms do not help obtain knowledge of things because the form is abstract and does not exist inside things. In addition, if these forms are abstract then how to they partake or contribute to the sensual world?

    Read More

  • Discussion of the Pre-Socratics

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    Socrates is easily one of the most well known names in the history of philosophy. He is even portrayed via the magic of Hollywood time travel in the popular movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and was more recently quoted inaccurately on a t-shirt as saying, “I drank what?” Despite his fame, Socrates was not the first philosopher by far, and certainly not the earliest to make meaningful contributions to the field of philosophy. Some of the great “Pre-Socratics” include Anaximenes, Parmenides, Xenophane, and Democritus. The philosophical issues of their days were significantly different from the popular discussions today, though no less relevant, and provide ample fodder for the cannon of philosophical consideration. The issues in consideration here that may benefit from discussion are the problem of the one and the many, the distinction between phusis and nomos as regards the nature of god(s), and distinction between appearance and reality. Appropriate and thorough discussion of these topics in the pre-Socratic context is certain to yield insight into the connection between these three issues.

    Read More

  • Does Perfection Exist?: Plato´s Theory of Forms

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Plato, his Theory of Forms states perfection only lives in the realm of thought. There only exists one of every ideal and the rest is just a copy. This one creation is called a form, the most flawless representation of an idea. In the physical world everything is a copy of these forms and all copies are imperfect. Plato believed in two worlds; the intelligible world and the illusionistic world. The intelligible world is where everything is unchanging and eternal. We can only grasp the intelligible world with our mind. It is the world of ideas and not senses. A place where there are perfect forms of the things we know on Earth. According to Plato everything in the world we live in is an illusion. All objects are only shadows of their true forms. His theory further states every group of objects that have the same defying properties must have an ideal form. For example, in the class of wine glasses there must be one in particular that is the ideal wine glass. All others would fall under this ideal form.

    Read More

  • Being vs Becoming Plato

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    If we consider Plato’s ideas abstractions, we shall never grasp his meaning. But if we think of how a great artist sometimes manages to catch the vital meaning of an event on his canvas, we are coming closer to Plato’s theory. Take another example, how many of us have known someone for years when, suddenly, when one day something happens, and we see him for the first time as a “real person.” His personality has become alive and full of meaning in a way, which has nothing to do with his appearance or his attitude. Our two minds seem to look directly at one another. We feel we have a real contact with that person.

    Read More

  • Plato's Theory Of Knowledge Summary

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    If there was no knowledge of such “Forms”, we will not be able to classify them and its definition. In order for him to call a true “Forms”, it needs to have certain characteristics along with their functions and requirements. For this, the “Forms” needs to be unchangeable; it has to be eternal. It can only be understood by the intellect and not by the senses; the source needs to be Divine, and lastly it has no physical existence. Moreover, he will definitely attempt to define the different types of “Forms” called beauty, justice and the good. Even though we have not seen beauty, justice, and the good, we can say what is close to its meaning as possible. To illustrate this we will say the girl has beautiful eyes. Would this statement defines what beautiful means? No, but it put us closer to its truthful definition without seeing a perfect example of it. Therefore, people’s knowledge will be carried from one vehicle (the human body) to and another vehicle per Plato’s theory of knowledge, forms and recollection, the soul will be transported from the underworld to the real world of the

    Read More

More about Explain Plato's Response To The Pre-Socratics

Open Document