Philosophy

[Name of the Institute]

Philosophy

Plato's Theory of Forms

Ontological Perspective

Plato's theory of Forms is focused on the significance of a general idea or concept. According to Plato an idea is a non material abstract attains the highest form of reality. The material object which is present in the overall environments such as trees, stones, planets and other things; can be experienced by individuals through their respective senses. They can use the sense of touch or smell to ascertain the existence of these objects. However the concepts such as justice, peace, equality and humanity; cannot be experienced by the physical senses. Rather these concepts are experienced through the human soul, which is more meaningful and real as compared to the material objects (Nehamas, 1979). The soul is an immortal and everlasting entity, which is not limited to the material bounds. There exist three levels of reality; essence is the conceptual form, as it is present as a general idea or concept. The material objects can be described as the imitation of essence as they represent the physical imitation of the conceptual idea. The last and the lowest form of reality is the imitation of an imitation, such as a painting; where the physical object which is an imitation of an essence, is reproduced in a picture or painting.

Epistemology

The knowledge of the essence is classified as the most fundamentally real and pure form. As discussed the general idea and the concept is a significant entity, as these are based on the immutable and everlasting ideals. The human soul is directly linked with the interaction with the concepts; hence they represent the most real entities. In this context the knowledge of the essence can be identified as the most important form of knowledge. The craftsman's knowledge is inferior to the knowledge of essence as it ...