1 / 13

Theory of Forms

Theory of Forms. DO NOT tell anyone what you are making!. You have 1 minute to create your assigned animal…. The Idea of Cat. Even though each of your creations were slightly different, you were able to identify them as CATS because you have an idea of what a cat is.

adamma
Download Presentation

Theory of Forms

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Theory of Forms

  2. DO NOT tell anyone what you are making! You have 1 minute to create your assigned animal…

  3. The Idea of Cat Even though each of your creations were slightly different, you were able to identify them as CATS because you have an idea of what a cat is. Plato calls this ‘idea’ a Form.

  4. What makes a CAT a CAT, is the way in which it corresponds to the eternal, immutable idea (or Form) of CAT.

  5. Forms (ideas) Plato believed that these ideas or Forms have an actual existence in the Realm of the Forms. REALM of the FORMS

  6. What then must Forms be like? TEST YOURSELF illusions physical objects of knowledge non-extended finite absolute accessed using our reason permanent impermanent temporal only one of each kind real perfect immutable objects of opinion/belief changeable non-physical known a posteriori imperfect eternal known a priori experienced by the senses

  7. Particulars The things we experience in the empirical world are merely imperfect copies, reflections or shadows of Forms.Plato called these particulars.

  8. TEST YOURSELF What then are Particulars like? • Create a list of descriptors for the nature of particulars in the empirical world. Hint: think about the nature of the empirical world and what it is like. Hint:use antonyms of words describing the Forms.

  9. HOME LEARNING Create a Poster The EMPIRICAL WORLD REALM of the FORMS Include pictures and key terms

  10. What are the particulars? What are the Forms?

  11. Weaknesses The 3rd Man Argument (Infinite regression of Forms): Does Plato need a Form of the Forms to explain what the Forms have in common and then a Form of the Form of the Forms and so on? EXTEND In a way Plato does have a Form of the Forms but he has good reasons for thinking that the chain stops there. Keep an eye out for this in our next couple of lessons…

  12. Number of forms unspecified: Broadly speaking everything has a Form. There are Forms for values like Beauty, Justice and Wisdom. There are Forms for living things like dogs and frogs, and Forms for objects like tables and chairs. There are also Forms for mathematical concepts like circles and triangles. But how far do these divide up – is there a Form of dogs, or of Corgis?

  13. New Inventions: What about forms for new inventions? How would this work if they are supposed to be eternal?

More Related