Plato - key aims

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Plato's understanding of reality
- knowledge gained through the senses can't be trusted because the world is constantly changing
- we have innate knowledge of the Forms
- dualist; body and soul are separate
- two separate realms; the realm of reality (Noeton) and realm of appearances (H
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Plato's concept of the Forms
- perfect, ideals, fixed truths, eternal and unchanging
- exist in the Noeton
- our world contains the essence of the Forms because the Demiurge created our world using the Forms as a model
- particulars (objects in the horaton) are imperfect because they
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the Demiurge
- the god that Plato believed in
- used existing matter that existed in a state of chaos and formed the universe, using the Forms as models
- the demiurge is perfectly good but is not omnipotent
- the world is imperfect (unlike the Forms) because the mat
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The Form of the Good
- most important form, top of the hierarchy
- all other Forms filter from it and it is the source of all other Forms
- Forms that are lower on the hierarchy are: truth, justice and beauty, then concepts, then living things, then inanimate objects
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Plato's analogy of the cave
- prisoners are shackled in a cave, unable to move or turn their heads so can only see the back wall of the cave
- behind them there is a fire, and in front there are people carrying artificial objects with a screen hiding the people
- the fire casts shad
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Representations in the analogy of the cave
the prisoners - people who are unaware of the forms
the shadows - imitations of the Forms
the puppet-handlers - philosophers who lead people but don't know the truth
the cave itself - the Horaton
the outside world - the forms/ Noeton
the sun - the Form o
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Arguments supporting Plato's theory of reality
- many religions support that there is more to this world than what we can observe
- helps us to consider what is real in our lives and what is truly valuable
- encourages us to question the validity of empirical evidence and examine the epistemological g
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

- perfect, ideals, fixed truths, eternal and unchanging
- exist in the Noeton
- our world contains the essence of the Forms because the Demiurge created our world using the Forms as a model
- particulars (objects in the horaton) are imperfect because they

Back

Plato's concept of the Forms

Card 3

Front

- the god that Plato believed in
- used existing matter that existed in a state of chaos and formed the universe, using the Forms as models
- the demiurge is perfectly good but is not omnipotent
- the world is imperfect (unlike the Forms) because the mat

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

- most important form, top of the hierarchy
- all other Forms filter from it and it is the source of all other Forms
- Forms that are lower on the hierarchy are: truth, justice and beauty, then concepts, then living things, then inanimate objects

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

- prisoners are shackled in a cave, unable to move or turn their heads so can only see the back wall of the cave
- behind them there is a fire, and in front there are people carrying artificial objects with a screen hiding the people
- the fire casts shad

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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