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Choose one of the following and draw it.
Tiger Monkey Horse Toad Cow Cat Hippo
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Learning objectives To describe what a Form is.
To explain what is meant by the Form of the Good. To explain the relationship between Forms and the physical world.
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How do I know a chair is a chair?
Chairs How do I know a chair is a chair? Look at these…
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Think How do I know a chair is a chair?
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According to Plato Plato says we have “a priori” knowledge of “chairness”. This means a knowledge prior to our sensing or ever having sat in a chair.
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Baby sat in chair I am really happy sat in this chair. I know it’s a chair because I have a priori knowledge of chairness. My mum thinks that I am happy in this chair because she taught me what a chair is and pointed to it and said “chair, chair, chair”. But that’s rubbish, I don’t need a posteriori knowledge of chairness, I knew about chairness before she told me!
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Consider beauty With the person sitting next to you, write down a list of things you associate with ‘beauty’. What does it mean to say something is ‘beautiful’?
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An example This is a photograph of French actress, Brigitte Bardot
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This is Brigitte Bardot today..
Plato would argue that what we see in this world is the illusion, appearance, shadow of beauty. This is because all material things are subject to time and space Therefore, beautiful women will grow old! However, the Form of Beauty is eternal, timeless. It belongs to the transcendent realm.
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Another example Michelangelo did not use a model for “David” he thought deeply about the essence of “manhood” and is thought to have glimpsed it in its perfect form.
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PLATO’S THEORY OF FORMS
For Plato there are two worlds; the eternal world and the material world. The eternal world possesses the object of knowledge and is more real than the material world which possesses the object of opinion. The material world is in a constant state of flux (change) and therefore it is impossible to know the truth of reality. Perfect forms exist in the realm of ideals or forms. Sense perceptions of material objects are simply objects of opinion, subject to constant change.
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BEAUTY Knowledge is innate, a recollection of the perfect forms.
“Her eyes are too close together” – we can recognize that she falls short of beauty and thus understand the concept of beauty, yet we have not ever experienced a perfect example of beauty. We have concepts of the perfect forms thus our souls must have known them before we were born (innate, ‘a priori’ knowledge) –evidence that we have immortal souls.
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GOODNESS Goodness is the most important form.
Like the sun in the Allegory of the Cave, Good illuminates all the other forms. Justice for example is an aspect of Goodness.
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Plato assumes two worlds
The Finite world (our world) Here material objects exist (e.g. chairs) but they are subject to change and decay (legs drop off!). These things conform to their corresponding idea in the world of the Form The World of The Form Here the patterns Or the objects and Concepts for The material World exist in A state of Unchanging perfection Finite world is shadow Of the REAL world Of the Forms It is the job of the philosopher to break free from the Shackles of the finite (changing) world and find the world of Reality in the world of the Form
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Comparison The Material World World of the Forms
Transitory - moves in time and space Outside of time and space. (A priori) Relative Real and absolute Changing - and decaying Unchanging Impermanent Permanent Superficial What matters most Contradictory - are subject to opinion No contradiction - they are not subject to opinion. Sensory Beyond the senses Can be measured Immeasurable
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Tasks Write a paragraph about what Plato’s Forms
Read sheet and write a title for the paragraphs (the one with the dotted line)
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