Socrates And Plato: The Theory Of Forms

The Theory of Forms or also known as The Theory of Ideas, is a challenging concept but represents the purest form of knowledge according to Socrates and Plato. The Forms represent Plato’s argument that non-physical forms/ideas are the most accurate reality we have. One can notice this difference because throughout Plato’s work, The Theory of Forms are often capitalized. Plato, who speaks of The Forms through different characters in each story, but mostly Socrates, believes that the Forms are the only objects of study that can provide knowledge and are the solutions to the universal problems that occur. Plato was heavily influenced on sceptism, which came from his teacher, Socrates. According to Plato, the world is contantly changing and believes

In Plato’s distinction through Socrates he describes a group of people who all their lives have been chained to a wall of the cave. They have no notion of the outside world, they can only watch the shadows projected on the wall from object passing by the fire. The shadows represent the prisoner’s reality since that is all they know and have come accustom to. Socrates explains that a philospher is a freed prisoner from the cave and with the knowledge comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not reality at all, just what we think it is because we don’t know anything else. Once one is freed from this notion, the philispher is able to percieve the true form of reality rather then believing what they only see from the shadows on the walls. Plato divided the universe into two forms, the sensiable and the intelligable. The sensiable describes how we see the world through our sense, sight, smell, taste, touch etc. The intelligeable is how we see the world through our intellect. The things that come from our intellect is the Theory of Forms. According to Plato, these things in the sensiable world, which come from our sense are eternal and are imperfect reflections of the Forms. Plato uses these two Forms to describe two metaphors. The Allegory of the Sun in Plato’s writing states that since the Sun is visable to our eyes, it is the light that describes the truth and being which is in contrast of the becoming. The nature of the reality is what represents the soul and what can be considered the Good. Since the light and sight are made to represent the Sun, but are not the Sun, but because of the Sun light and truth can exist. This can also be describe with science and truth can be represented as the Good, but yet are not the Good. So if light and sight can be considered part of the Good then so must science and truth. According to Plato, the