Assess and explain Plato’s Theory of Forms
Plato was an Athenian philosopher, often regarded as one of the greatest philosophical minds in
history. Plato endeavoured to prove that philosophy was the noblest of all professions, following
the death of his mentor, Socrates, which had a profound effect upon him. Socrate’s belief in abso-
lute knowledge developed into Plato’s most famous contribution, the Theory of Forms. This was his
conclusion that all objects in the physical world are in a state of process and change, therefore,
true knowledge can never be attached to them. Plato argued that there is a different world, a World
of Forms, in which there are eternal, unchanging versions of these objects.
The Theory of Forms was a fusion of the opposing philosophies of Heraclitus and Parmenides.
Heraclitus famously said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice”, advocating that everything
is in flux, whereas Parmenides argued that reality was unchanging and that any appearance of
change was an illusion. Plato’s theory is therefore seen as a synthesis of these views as he ex-
plains that the physical world is always changing but that it is also a World of Forms that is con-
stant. Plato argued that the physical world is the World of Appearances and that it is less real than
the World of Forms. For every particular thing in the World of Appearances, there is a timeless uni-
versal idea of it in the real World of Forms. For example, there are particular things which are
recognised as beautiful, such as flowers, but this is only because of our innate knowledge of the
Forms. The physical world is filled with imperfect imitations of concepts, thus flowers partake in
beauty but they are not beauty itself. Forms not only apply to concepts such as beauty and justice
but to everything. This is why horses differ from each other in size, colour and temperament, as
they all share the attribute of being a horse but none take the perfect form.
Plato believed that there is a hierarchy of Forms, with the most important of all being the Form of
the Good. The Form of the Good ranks highest as it illuminates and assigns value to all of the
other Forms. An example of this is Justice which is an aspect of goodness, making it a Higher
Form. Goodness is seen as the purest and most abstract of the Forms and the furthest away from
the physical world. In contrast, Forms closer to the bottom of the hierarchy are far less conceptual,
such as those closely related to material objects, like the Form of Softness. The Form of the Good
has never been perfectly exemplified, however there are actions and people which are recognised
as good. This is due to the fact that humans can recognise when a thing partakes in the Form of
the Good because of the intuitive knowledge acquired before birth. The knowledge of Forms is
therefore innate as humans are born with it and recollect it through education. Plato believed in ‘A
priori’, meaning he believed our knowledge to exist independently from experience, as opposed to
‘A posteriori’, meaning that knowledge depends on experience, and the belief in innate knowledge
is an example of this. Furthermore, Plato suggests that the only reason why individuals commit bad
deeds is because they are ignorant of the Forms and therefore cannot differentiate between what
is good and bad, or honest and dishonest. Therefore, seeking the Form of the Good would encour-
age better moral decisions. This is why true knowledge is said to be a knowledge of goodness.
Plato’s Analogy of the Cave serves as a simpler explanation for the Theory of Forms. In the Anal-
ogy of the Cave, Plato sets up a scene in which there are shackled prisoners who have never left
the boundaries of their cave. In other words, the people are as far removed from reality as possible
and everything they perceive around them is untrue. However, they are completely unaware of
their own ignorance, to their knowledge, their reality is the truth. Plato then proposes that if one of
the prisoners were freed and entered the outside world, they would initially be in pain due to their
unused muscles and the glare of the sunlight. Gradually, however, they would become accus-
tomed to the change and their vision would begin to improve. Through this analogy, Plato wants to
promote the questioning of the world around us, despite the fact that this could be a painful experi-
ence. As the prisoner adjusts, they recognise the importance of the sun in illuminating all other
knowledge, which is a metaphor for the Form of the Good. The cave and the shadows are some-
thing that is experienced when one is ignorant of the Form of the Good. Therefore, Plato suggests
that neglecting to ask oneself about the form of goodness is living without knowledge. Plato uses
the prisoners as a representation of the human condition, in that humans are trapped in an illusory
world of the senses, whereas the Forms represent the world beyond the shadows - the truth. Plato
Plato was an Athenian philosopher, often regarded as one of the greatest philosophical minds in
history. Plato endeavoured to prove that philosophy was the noblest of all professions, following
the death of his mentor, Socrates, which had a profound effect upon him. Socrate’s belief in abso-
lute knowledge developed into Plato’s most famous contribution, the Theory of Forms. This was his
conclusion that all objects in the physical world are in a state of process and change, therefore,
true knowledge can never be attached to them. Plato argued that there is a different world, a World
of Forms, in which there are eternal, unchanging versions of these objects.
The Theory of Forms was a fusion of the opposing philosophies of Heraclitus and Parmenides.
Heraclitus famously said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice”, advocating that everything
is in flux, whereas Parmenides argued that reality was unchanging and that any appearance of
change was an illusion. Plato’s theory is therefore seen as a synthesis of these views as he ex-
plains that the physical world is always changing but that it is also a World of Forms that is con-
stant. Plato argued that the physical world is the World of Appearances and that it is less real than
the World of Forms. For every particular thing in the World of Appearances, there is a timeless uni-
versal idea of it in the real World of Forms. For example, there are particular things which are
recognised as beautiful, such as flowers, but this is only because of our innate knowledge of the
Forms. The physical world is filled with imperfect imitations of concepts, thus flowers partake in
beauty but they are not beauty itself. Forms not only apply to concepts such as beauty and justice
but to everything. This is why horses differ from each other in size, colour and temperament, as
they all share the attribute of being a horse but none take the perfect form.
Plato believed that there is a hierarchy of Forms, with the most important of all being the Form of
the Good. The Form of the Good ranks highest as it illuminates and assigns value to all of the
other Forms. An example of this is Justice which is an aspect of goodness, making it a Higher
Form. Goodness is seen as the purest and most abstract of the Forms and the furthest away from
the physical world. In contrast, Forms closer to the bottom of the hierarchy are far less conceptual,
such as those closely related to material objects, like the Form of Softness. The Form of the Good
has never been perfectly exemplified, however there are actions and people which are recognised
as good. This is due to the fact that humans can recognise when a thing partakes in the Form of
the Good because of the intuitive knowledge acquired before birth. The knowledge of Forms is
therefore innate as humans are born with it and recollect it through education. Plato believed in ‘A
priori’, meaning he believed our knowledge to exist independently from experience, as opposed to
‘A posteriori’, meaning that knowledge depends on experience, and the belief in innate knowledge
is an example of this. Furthermore, Plato suggests that the only reason why individuals commit bad
deeds is because they are ignorant of the Forms and therefore cannot differentiate between what
is good and bad, or honest and dishonest. Therefore, seeking the Form of the Good would encour-
age better moral decisions. This is why true knowledge is said to be a knowledge of goodness.
Plato’s Analogy of the Cave serves as a simpler explanation for the Theory of Forms. In the Anal-
ogy of the Cave, Plato sets up a scene in which there are shackled prisoners who have never left
the boundaries of their cave. In other words, the people are as far removed from reality as possible
and everything they perceive around them is untrue. However, they are completely unaware of
their own ignorance, to their knowledge, their reality is the truth. Plato then proposes that if one of
the prisoners were freed and entered the outside world, they would initially be in pain due to their
unused muscles and the glare of the sunlight. Gradually, however, they would become accus-
tomed to the change and their vision would begin to improve. Through this analogy, Plato wants to
promote the questioning of the world around us, despite the fact that this could be a painful experi-
ence. As the prisoner adjusts, they recognise the importance of the sun in illuminating all other
knowledge, which is a metaphor for the Form of the Good. The cave and the shadows are some-
thing that is experienced when one is ignorant of the Form of the Good. Therefore, Plato suggests
that neglecting to ask oneself about the form of goodness is living without knowledge. Plato uses
the prisoners as a representation of the human condition, in that humans are trapped in an illusory
world of the senses, whereas the Forms represent the world beyond the shadows - the truth. Plato
