Plato Summary
➔ Seeks to relate everything to the nature of good life and purpose
➔ The world is one of change and uncertainty- there must be an
unchanging, spiritual world where there is certainty
➔ Plato takes a rationalist approach
Rationalist Approach= things are knowable by the mind alone
Empiricist View= We need to test something to know it
● Philosophers can see beyond the senses and to the truth and nature of
beings through reason alone
● True goodness goes beyond our senses
● Humans do bad things when they don’t use reason
Theory of Forms:
● What we perceive around us are merely shadows of the truth
● The world we live in is a poor imitation of the real world
● Ina world that is continuously changing, we rely on senses to tell us
what is happening
● The form is not a shape, rather an essence of the object
Allegory of the Cave:
The path to enlightenment is painful and requires that development happens
in 4 stages:
1. Imprisonment in the cave (imaginary world)
2. Release from the chains
3. Ascent out of the cave (the world of ideas)
4. The way back to help our fellows
Recognising Forms:
● We have the ability to recognise forms from a recollection from our past
existence in the world of forms
● The soul doesn’t change and before it was tied down by a body, it was
connected with the real world of forms
● Ordinary people cannot see the world of forms- only philosophers can
Evaluations:
● Encourages us to question and not accept things at face value
● Helps to understand imperfections and evil around us
● Infinite regress of forms
● Where is the evidence for our previous existence in the world of forms?
● Forms could be ideas in the mind rather than actually existing
● Everyone sees beauty differently- what is the perfect form?
, Augustine Summary
➔ Seeks to relate everything to the nature of good life and purpose
➔ The world is one of change and uncertainty- there must be an
unchanging, spiritual world where there is certainty
➔ Plato takes a rationalist approach
Rationalist Approach= things are knowable by the mind alone
Empiricist View= We need to test something to know it
● Philosophers can see beyond the senses and to the truth and nature of
beings through reason alone
● True goodness goes beyond our senses
● Humans do bad things when they don’t use reason
Theory of Forms:
● What we perceive around us are merely shadows of the truth
● The world we live in is a poor imitation of the real world
● Ina world that is continuously changing, we rely on senses to tell us
what is happening
● The form is not a shape, rather an essence of the object
Allegory of the Cave:
The path to enlightenment is painful and requires that development happens
in 4 stages:
1. Imprisonment in the cave (imaginary world)
2. Release from the chains
3. Ascent out of the cave (the world of ideas)
4. The way back to help our fellows
Recognising Forms:
● We have the ability to recognise forms from a recollection from our past
existence in the world of forms
● The soul doesn’t change and before it was tied down by a body, it was
connected with the real world of forms
● Ordinary people cannot see the world of forms- only philosophers can
Evaluations:
● Encourages us to question and not accept things at face value
● Helps to understand imperfections and evil around us
● Infinite regress of forms
● Where is the evidence for our previous existence in the world of forms?
● Forms could be ideas in the mind rather than actually existing
● Everyone sees beauty differently- what is the perfect form?
, Augustine Summary
