Plato

Plato's History

• Born around 428 BCE in Athens
• Classical Greek Philosopher, founded Academy in Athens, mathematician
• Student of Socrates

Myth of the Cave

• Cave Analogy
• Wanted to show what the world was like looking in a cave.
• Metaphysical Dualism
• The physical and intelligible worlds exist together. However, the physical world is a copy of the intelligible.

Metaphysical Dualism

• Perceptual World= Forms of different copies (senses, images (reflections), opinions)
• Intelligible World= Actual Forms (intellect, knowledge)

Theory of Forms

• Forms= Objective, Transcendent, Eternal, Intelligible, Archetypal, Perfect
• Forms exist separately from Particulars (which are dependent of physical matter).

Innate Knowledge

• "A priori"- "before"
• Immortal Soul- Perfect world before
• We are already born with ideas- everything in the world is just a shadow.

Plato's Ideal City

• Philosopher Kings=dictator
• Should be able to judge reality from perception ("The Republic")
• Make decisions because they understand the true Forms of objects.

Plato's Ideal City

• Philosopher Kings=dictator
• Should be able to judge reality from perception ("The Republic")
• Make decisions because they understand the true Forms of objects.

Idealism: "The Repulic"

• What a perfect society should look like: Monarchy
• Allegory of "the Cave":humankind can function without any awareness of his realm of Forms.
• Some consider it his greatest work

"The Apology"

• About his teacher, Socrates and his confession
• His version of Socrates speech defending himself for not believing the same gods as the city and corrupting the youth
• Gave us Socrates philosophical ideas

View on Art

• Considered a poet, but viewed art as an imitation
• Image is from the mind (refer back to "the Cave" analogy)
• So many copies brings us away from the true form of art.