Intro to Philosophy – Sept 9
Forms are one, particulars are many.
Is the form of apple-ness perfect? Is it a perfect apple or does it copy the form
of an apple.
The world that we live in is high imperfect, the world of forms, opposed to
the world of particulars, is a perfect world, has perfect objects. Why we must
differentiate between Plato’s world of particulars and of forms.
o Mimesis: mimics/copies the form. Relationship between forms and
particulars.
o A typical bed, has bed-ness. An artist when he paints the bed, he
mimics it. Making a copy of a copy of reality.
o The truly real things in life are forms. They exist in a world very
different from this world of space and time of which we live in.
o For Plato, nothing is every fully real. They prevented from this
because of constant change. Particulars are always becoming
something else, they’re never static. The world of change and
becoming is the world we live in.
The Famous Third Man argument – Plato put this forth. All these triangles resemble
one another, they’re like one another in having triangularity. Does the form of
triangularity resemble a particular triangle? If the form of greenness resembles a
green object, must it not do so in something else? If we allow a resemblance of a
form on one end and a particular on another. Whiteness = white -> ()
Does not resemble white object