True Forms As Plato example essay topic

THE REPORT: "The Good, the Bad and the Theory" (Assignment One) Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION: 3 THE THEORY: 4 THE GOOD: 9 THE BAD: 10 CONCLUSION: 11 REFERENCES: 14 INTRODUCTION: This essay shall illustrate the theories of Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, who had a great impact on education ideas for future generations. His theories shall be discussed, and then the negative and positive points of the theories shall be uncovered, and finally the position of my judgement, after considering all of the information below. The following is a brief background of Plato, and who influenced his ideas. This knowledge is essential to keep in mind when reading this essay. The theories in focus are those the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato (427-347 B.C. ). He was one of the leading contributors to philosophy in the western world.

He helped create the intellectual foundations of western civilization. His ideas still remain the view point for analysing educational issues that we face today. He would probably be the best known of all the Greeks. Plato's theories were in line with those of Socrates, the life and education was the search for the truth within reality.

His ideas on education were counterarguments to the Sophists, who claimed that what we call truths, were merely temporary statements or opinions that depended on changing times and circumstances. The Sophists claimed that they gave their students a pleasing public persona, proper social bearing, correct style of speech, and effective political skills. For Plato, the Sophists were creating public images rather than searching for the truth as Socrates had done. Like Socrates, Plato was chiefly interested in moral philosophy and despised natural philosophy (that is, science) as an inferior and unworthy sort of knowledge. To Plato, knowledge had no practical use, it existed for the abstract good of the soul. Plato also believed that mathematics in its ideal form could still be applied to the heavens.

The heavenly bodies, he believed, exhibited perfect geometric form. This he expresses most clearly in a dialogue called Timaeus in which he presents his scheme of the universe. The following theories are Plato's Allegory of the Cave, which includes, how we think, and the process in which we learn. The other is his ideal society, The Republic, in which each individual's socio-economic status is determined by his or her intellectual capacity. THE THEORY: Plato's educational goals were to penetrate through images and appearances to find reality's true underlying meaning. During his quest for the truth, he devised his philosophical idealism, asserts that reality consists of eternally stable and universal unchanging ideas, or pure concepts.

All ideas are derived from superior, higher and all-encompassing universal idea, the 'form of the good. ' To know means to penetrate through the sensory image to reach the perfect world of ideas. The clearer our knowledge of these general concepts, the closer we are intellectually to the form of the good and the more accurate our knowledge of reality. The theory basically postulates the existence of a level of reality or "world" inhabited by the ideal or archetypal forms of all things and concepts.

Thus a form exists, for objects like tables and rocks and for concepts, such as beauty and justice. In the dialogue Meno, Plato describes a form as the "common nature" possessed by a group of things or concepts. Speaking of virtue he says: "And so of the virtues, however many and different they may be, they have all a common nature which makes them virtues; and on this he who would answer the question, "What is virtue?" would do well to have his eye fixed" (Meno). The forms are eternal and changeless, but enter into a partnership with changeable matter, to produce the objects and examples of concepts, we perceive in the temporal world (Phaedrus). These are always in a state of becoming, and may participate in a succession of forms.

The ever changing temporal world can therefore, only be the source of opinion (Republic). Plato likens the opinions derived from our senses, to the perception of shadows of real objects, cast upon the wall of a cave. True knowledge however, is the perception of the archetypal forms themselves, which are real, eternal, and unchanging. While the forms are invisible to the eye (Republic), our souls have participated in the eternal world of forms prior to being incarnate in a physical body, and retain a memory of them (Meno). Although this memory is not readily accessible to the conscious mind, its presence is sufficient, to enable our limited perceptions. Plato maintains however, that the philosopher can achieve a state of perceiving the forms directly, with his mind's eye, by: developing skill, in discerning the abstract qualities, common to groups of things and ideas, in the temporal world; by realising these are merely hypotheses; and by employing the method of dialectic, to categorise and group the qualities in their correct relationships and order; using these hypotheses as stepping stones, to further hypotheses.

Therefore, reason is able to construct a hierarchy of forms, to scale to the height of first principle and attain a state of true knowledge (Republic) All learning, Plato maintains, is but recollection, of what our soul already knows (Republic; Meno). In the dialogue Meno, Plato agrees that enquiry is impossible, because, unless we already knew something, we would not recognise, the subject about which we were enquiring. But adds, that enquiry is worthwhile, in that it can uncover our innate memory (Meno). Through out his many intellectual conquests, he battled with the following question, just as many other Greek philosophers of his time had done. What kind of society would enable human beings to best realize their human potential and live according to justice? Plato tried to answer this question in 'The Republic', his major work on politics and education (Bloom, 1968; Gru be, 1974; Gutek, 2001).

According to Plato, living in justice meant that every citizen would do what was appropriate for his or her abilities. Plato devised his perfect society, The Republic, as a social organism, in which the societal, economic, political, and educational institutions server the common good. Within the Republic Plato devised three classes of socio-economic status. Those were, the philosopher-kings, the military, and the workers. The philosopher-kings had the greatest intellectual capacity therefore they had had the highest status within the Republic. Then the military, they had the greatest capacity for bravery and courage.

They were the best to protect the Republic in the event of conflict with other nations, or enemies. The lowest class the workers, had the greatest capacity to produce goods and services, in order to maintain the Republics' economy (Gutek, 2001). Plato believed that assigning the occupation and socio-economic class upon people based on their intellectual capacities, would result in harmonious relationships between those within the Republic regardless of class. Plato saw this method, as a way of fulfilling the principle of justice within the Republic. This ideal society / polis would be divided into three parts as the soul is divided into three parts.

This tripartite soul was composed of three sections, Reason, Spirit, and Appetite. Plato used the metaphor of metals, gold, silver and bronze. The philosophers were said to have the 'gold's ouls, to have reason and morality. The auxiliaries / soldiers were said to have spirit-filled, 'silver's ouls, courageous.

The workers / farmers were said to have 'bronze' in their souls as they have appetites. The education system of the Republic would include only include good citizens, only an elite group to rule, a meritocracy. Those with 'real knowledge' would be educated, who 'saw' the 'forms'. The curriculum would be based on expanding the knowledge of 'Forms'. Plato believed in pure forms, such as beauty and truth. The highest Form was that of the "Form of the Good".

The key to this knowledge was geometry. Plato believed that those who had the intellectual capacity to identify the "Form of the Good" they had the knowledge of how to act according to it. As it would be the truth, as Socrates once thought, that was the meaning of life, to have the knowledge of the truth. For Plato, the truth is seen in the 'true Forms'.

The "Form of the Good", once this knowledge was obtained that one should, and would abide by it. Thus a person possessing a gold soul, having reason and morality, would not be capable, or have the desire to live otherwise. Plato also regarded early childhood as highly important learning period in a person's life. In the early years, the cultural, social and intellectual predispositions of adult life were laid. Plato specified the children from birth through to six, should attend state operated nurseries. These little children, free from corruptive vices, would develop the proper habits needed in an organic society.

Also, teachers could begin to identify intellectually gifted children. As the children progressed they were taught according to their abilities / capacities, up until eighteen years of age every one is educated in a variety of essential areas, then those who have reached their intellectual capacity, assume their places in society, while the rest keep going, and this repeats at certain stages of their education until those left are of the highest intellectual capacity, i.e. the philosopher-kings. THE GOOD: Plato, like Socrates believed in seeking out the truth, the meaning of life. Seeking out knowledge, being able to seek, and provide it through education, to those willing to learn. Unfortunately, for following his beliefs, Socrates was condemned, and sentenced to death by the members of the Athenian court.

Athens was, at that point in time, a democracy, but the only problem was the Sophists of Athens believed in teaching their students to become positive public images, and to manipulate public opinion. They were training future politicians, for the democracy. But they were teaching them to seek the wrong paths. The Sophists taught, manipulation, deception, and most of all how to be corrupted by the illusion of power.

Plato, on the other hand, had the desire to teach students to seek the truth, through knowledge, wisdom, not through, popularity, power, and deception. Plato lived by reason and morals, which is how he wanted the students of his to live, in order to achieve self-fulfilment. Plato also recognised that early child hood is an important, and vulnerable stage of the life course, and as such, must be treated with care, and that the learning environment must be free from corruption. And the environment should be rich with moral development learning, in order to behave appropriately within society. Plato's curriculum was rich with diverse areas of learning, from music, literature, physical education, mathematics, and philosophy, gymnastics.

The students are allowed to express themselves in a variety of areas; they would have an opportunity to discover the full capabilities, through testing their boundaries in these areas. Which is the whole purpose of Plato's education system. The idea of assigning people to their socio-economic class, through their aptitude, or intellectual capacity, would mean that those assigned to certain roles would certainly be able to fulfil their duties. THE BAD: Although Plato's theory has a lot of good points, it also has it bad points as well. With the Republic, the idea of assigning people into socio-economic classes is suggesting that one individual is better than the other, which would result in people looking down at those in a lower class. This also occurred in the late 1900's, in the Western world, with the aristocrats and the lower working class people; those in lower socio-economic classes got treated poorly.

They were considered less important, luxuries weren't available to them as they were too expensive to afford, and wages were too low. Although Plato's theory of his ideal society disperses it's peoples into areas which are best suited to their abilities, that does not mean that those who are workers have a lower intellectual capacity, than those who are philosopher-kings. As Plato says himself that those with the greatest ability in a certain area, shall be placed in that area of occupation, whether it shall be philosopher-kings, soldiers, or workers. The word intellect actually means faculty of reasoning and acquiring knowledge. Knowledge does not mean only arithmetic, music, studying literature, philosophy etcetera, and so on.

It is, knowing about things, knowing about all things. But it is not possible to know all things, as knowledge is obtained every day, no matter where or whom you are. The knowledge of the truth, the true forms, as Plato sees them; of objects and concepts; are man-made ideas, constructed by man. These concepts have no way of existing before someone invents them. And if it is prior knowledge as Plato says then why don't we all recall it when we see it? For example, in the medieval period, there were people burned at the stake for inventions they created or ideas that they believed, ways of life that they pursued, which was different to those who stood in authoritarian positions was considered pagani stic, as many followed the Christian movement in the Western world.

If these 'Forms' for all of us in the perfect world of ideas, why don't we recall them? CONCLUSION: Plato's Republic, when the theory was conceived would have been very beneficial for the society that existed there and then. But Western civilization has come a long way from being divided into classes, being separated, and those in different socio-economic classes being despising one another because of their class. The way of life was distorted, proper education was limited to those who could afford it, and so on.

Now most societies are run democratically, and egalitarianism roams almost the entire Western world. Peace reigns supreme. But a society determined by class, can only lead to conflict within the Republic. Having other decide what your intellectual capacity is, eliminates, freedom of choice, not everyone wants to be all they can be. One can be astounding at mathematics, yet they could despise, like it's worst enemy, one's ability, should not determine what one should be. The theory of Forms, the idea of 'pure forms' existing one's mind eye, cannot be totally correct.

As one would assume something pure, is true, which inevitably is real. A concept does not exist until it is displayed, like love. We can know of it but until is seen, experienced, or practiced, it cannot be real. In regards to how we learn, the concepts and objects Plato refers to are man made and therefore cannot have already existed before we are here to invent them, and put them into practice. Knowledge is learned, not recalled. Otherwise scientific ideas and practices would not have been considered witchcraft during medieval times, they would have merely been recalled.

In conclusion, Plato's ideals, I can see may have suited the era, but I would not say that I agree with his methodology, in determining one's fate. Though I do agree that early childhood should be handled with care. However his theories regarding how we learn, is false as there are acts and theories which are considered radical, which would have to have been, according to Plato recalled, yet others don't? Human rights are eliminated within his society, as freedom of choice is eliminated, and society's fate is pre-determined by soul, yet they are educated and given the chance to learn, but then they are denied the education because somebody thinks they can't learn anymore.

In my opinion, we are constantly learning, every day, throughout life, there is no limit to what we can learn, only what we can recall over time (there's one to think about! ).

Bibliography

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p. 55-56), New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts Brumbaugh, Robert S., Lawrence, Nathaniel M., (1963), Philosophers on Education: Six Essays on the Foundations of Western Thought, (p.