Plato.
Publié le 03/05/2013
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one of the individuals escapes from the cave into the light of day.
With the aid of the sun, that person sees for the first time the real world and returns to the cave withthe message that the only things they have seen heretofore are shadows and appearances and that the real world awaits them if they are willing to struggle free oftheir bonds.
The shadowy environment of the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances.
Escape into the sun-filled setting outside the cave symbolizesthe transition to the real world, the world of full and perfect being, the world of Forms, which is the proper object of knowledge.
B Nature of Forms
The theory of Forms may best be understood in terms of mathematical entities.
A circle, for instance, is defined as a plane figure composed of a series of points, all ofwhich are equidistant from a given point.
No one has ever actually seen such a figure, however.
What people have actually seen are drawn figures that are more or less close approximations of the ideal circle.
In fact, when mathematicians define a circle, the pointsreferred to are not spatial points at all; they are logical points.
They do not occupy space.
Nevertheless, although the Form of a circle has never been seen—indeed,could never be seen—mathematicians and others do in fact know what a circle is.
That they can define a circle is evidence that they know what it is.
For Plato, therefore,the Form “circularity” exists, but not in the physical world of space and time.
It exists as a changeless object in the world of Forms or Ideas, which can be known only byreason.
Forms have greater reality than objects in the physical world both because of their perfection and stability and because they are models, resemblance to which givesordinary physical objects whatever reality they have.
Circularity, squareness, and triangularity are excellent examples, then, of what Plato meant by Forms.
An objectexisting in the physical world may be called a circle or a square or a triangle only to the extent that it resembles (“participates in” is Plato’s phrase) the Form “circularity”or “squareness” or “triangularity.”
Plato extended his theory beyond the realm of mathematics.
Indeed, he was most interested in its application in the field of social ethics.
The theory was his way ofexplaining how the same universal term can refer to so many particular things or events.
The word justice, for example, can be applied to hundreds of particular acts because these acts have something in common, namely, their resemblance to, or participation in, the Form “justice.” An individual is human to the extent that he or sheresembles or participates in the Form “humanness.” If “humanness” is defined in terms of being a rational animal, then an individual is human to the extent that he orshe is rational.
A particular act is courageous or cowardly to the extent that it participates in its Form.
An object is beautiful to the extent that it participates in the Idea,or Form, of beauty.
Everything in the world of space and time is what it is by virtue of its resemblance to, or participation in, its universal Form.
The ability to define theuniversal term is evidence that one has grasped the Form to which that universal refers.
Plato conceived the Forms as arranged hierarchically; the supreme Form is the Form of the Good, which, like the sun in the myth of the cave, illuminates all the otherIdeas.
There is a sense in which the Form of the Good represents Plato’s movement in the direction of an ultimate principle of explanation.
Ultimately, the theory ofForms is intended to explain how one comes to know and also how things have come to be as they are.
In philosophical language, Plato’s theory of Forms is both anepistemological (theory of knowledge) and an ontological (theory of being) thesis ( see Metaphysics).
V POLITICAL THEORY
The Republic, Plato’s major political work, is concerned with the question of justice and therefore with the questions “what is a just state” and “who is a just individual?”
The ideal state, according to Plato, is composed of three classes.
The economic structure of the state is maintained by the merchant class.
Security needs are met bythe military class, and political leadership is provided by the philosopher-kings.
A particular person’s class is determined by an educational process that begins at birthand proceeds until that person has reached the maximum level of education compatible with interest and ability.
Those who complete the entire educational processbecome philosopher-kings.
They are the ones whose minds have been so developed that they are able to grasp the Forms and, therefore, to make the wisest decisions.Indeed, Plato’s ideal educational system is primarily structured so as to produce philosopher-kings.
Plato associates the traditional Greek virtues with the class structure of the ideal state.
Temperance is the unique virtue of the artisan class; courage is the virtuepeculiar to the military class; and wisdom characterizes the rulers.
Justice, the fourth virtue, characterizes society as a whole.
The just state is one in which each classperforms its own function well without infringing on the activities of the other classes.
Plato divides the human soul into three parts: the rational part, the will, and the appetites.
The just person is the one in whom the rational element, supported by thewill, controls the appetites.
An obvious analogy exists here with the threefold class structure of the state, in which the enlightened philosopher-kings, supported by thesoldiers, govern the rest of society.
VI ETHICS
Plato’s ethical theory rests on the assumption that virtue is knowledge and can be taught, which has to be understood in terms of his theory of Forms.
As indicatedpreviously, the ultimate Form for Plato is the Form of the Good, and knowledge of this Form is the source of guidance in moral decision making.
Plato also argued that toknow the good is to do the good.
The corollary of this is that anyone who behaves immorally does so out of ignorance.
This conclusion follows from Plato’s convictionthat the moral person is the truly happy person, and because individuals always desire their own happiness, they always desire to do that which is moral.
VII ART
Plato had an essentially antagonistic view of art and the artist, although he approved of certain religious and moralistic kinds of art.
Again, his approach is related to histheory of Forms.
A beautiful flower, for example, is a copy or imitation of the universal Forms “flowerness” and “beauty.” The physical flower is one step removed fromreality, that is, the Forms.
A picture of the flower is, therefore, two steps removed from reality.
This also meant that the artist is two steps removed from knowledge,and, indeed, Plato’s frequent criticism of the artists is that they lack genuine knowledge of what they are doing.
Artistic creation, Plato observed, seems to be rooted ina kind of inspired madness.
VIII INFLUENCE
Plato’s influence throughout the history of Western philosophy has been monumental.
When he died, Speusippus became head of the Academy.
The school continued inexistence until AD 529, when it was closed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, who objected to its pagan teachings.
Plato’s impact on Jewish thought is apparent in the work of the 1st-century Alexandrian philosopher Philo Judaeus.
Neoplatonism, founded by the 3rd-century philosopher Plotinus, was an important later developmentof Platonism.
The theologians Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Saint Augustine were early Christian exponents of a Platonic perspective.
Platonic ideas have had acrucial role in the development of Christian theology and also in medieval Islamic thought ( see Islam).
During the Renaissance, the primary focus of Platonic influence was the Florentine Academy, founded in the 15th century near Florence.
Under the leadership of Marsilio.
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Liens utiles
- Aristotle I INTRODUCTION Aristotle (384-322 BC), Greek philosopher and scientist, who shares with Plato and Socrates the distinction of being the most famous of ancient philosophers.
- Plato I INTRODUCTION Plato (428?
- Encyclopedia of Philosophy: The Theaetetus and the Sophist of Plato
- Encyclopedia of Philosophy: PLATO'S REPUBLIC
- Encyclopedia of Philosophy: THE THEORY OF IDEAS of PLATO