Plato short notes on epistemology and ontology

Theory of Knowledge (epistemology)

In the Theaetetus it is claimed that true knowledge is: a. Infallible, b. Of what is. Theaetetus (the character in the Theaetetus) makes the following claims: a. b. c. d. Knowledge is nothing but sense-perception Perception means appearance Appearances vary with different subjects Objects of sense-perception are always in a state of flux (agreeing with Heraclitus)

Socrates examines Theaetetus ideas and concludes that: a. If knowledge is sense-perception, then no man can be wiser than any other man b. The position of Protagoras leads to a contradiction anyone who holds that what Protagoras says is false, then, according to Protagoras, this is true. c. Some things cannot be known through the senses only, but require reflection: i. Whether an object exists (think of a mirage) ii. Mathematical knowledge iii. Things that are different from the way they seem Plato agrees with: a. Protagoras, on the relativity of the senses b. Heraclitus, that objects of sense-perception (particulars) are in a constant state of flux In conclusion, true knowledge cannot be gained through sense-perception; it must transcend sense-perception. Therefore true knowledge cannot be knowledge of the particulars. Plato gives a more detailed explanation of knowledge in the Republic through the simile of the divided line, the allegory of the cave, and the metaphor of the sun.

Theory of the Forms 1. In Platos view the objects which we apprehend in universal concepts, the objects with which science deals, the objects corresponding to universal terms of predication, are objective Ideas or subsistent Universals, existing in a transcendental world of their own somewhere out there apart from sensible things. 2. Sensible things are copies or participations in these universal realities, but the latter abide in an unchanging world of their own, while sensible things are subject to change, in fact are always becoming and can never truly be said to be. 3. Summarily we can say that: a. The forms are completely stable and unchanging, while the sensible world is in a state of flux. b. The forms are not known through the senses, but through the mind. c. The forms are ontologically separate from the sensible world, i.e. the forms do not exist in the particulars or because of the particulars. The sensible world decays, but does not affect the Forms. The Forms would exist even if the sensible world did not exist, but the sensible world would not exist if the Forms did not exist. 4. Plato synthesizes the ideas of Heraclitus and Parmenides. Heraclitus had argued that the sensible world is a constant state of flux. Parmenides had argued that reality is fixed and never changes. Plato, agrees with both; however, he maintains that while the sensible world, the material world, is in a constant state of flux, in a state of becoming, there is nevertheless, a reality, that is fixed, a reality of being. Thus, Plato separates the realm of becoming from the realm of being. 5. In the Phaedo Plato puts forward the following argument: we judge objects to be beautiful, good, equal and so. These Universals do not change; they are fixed standards. They are the essences of particular objects. The fact that human beings are able to judge objects as being beautiful, good implies knowledge of a standard. The knowledge of this standard is logically prior to the knowledge of the particular object. Thus, Plato concludes, we must have prior knowledge of the Form before we come to apprehend the particular object. We simply

remember or recollect knowledge we already possess; but from where do we get such knowledge? Plato speculates that the soul existed before its union with the body. 6. In the Republic Plato puts forward the argument of the one over the many. When we use the same term, say justice, what makes it one and the same thing that were talking about? Platos answer is: the Form of Justice, the one over the many. 7. The theory of the forms performs four functions: a. An epistemological function: the forms are stable and fixed. If knowledge, as Plato says in the Theaetetus, is knowledge of i) what is, and ii) the infallible, then it follows that true knowledge is knowledge of Universals. b. An ontological function: particular objects exist because they participate or imitate the Forms. c. A moral function: provide the possibility of objective and universal standards. d. A semantic function: provides a one unitary meaning for the universal terms that we use.