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Theory

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Theory of forms
The theory of Forms may be understood best in terms of mathematical entities. This
Theory was his way of explaining how the same universal term can refer to so many particular things or events. An individual is human to the extent that they resemble or participate. In the Form "humanness" if "humanness" is defined in terms of being a rational animal and human being to the extent that he or she is rational. An object is beautiful to the extent that it participates in the Idea, or Form of beauty. Everything in the world of space and time is, what it Is by virtue of it's resemblance to, or participation in, it's universal Form. The supreme Form is the Form of Good, which like the sun in the myth of the cave, illuminates all the other ideas. The theory of Forms is intended to explain how one comes to know and also how things have 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. These are always in a state of becoming, and may participate in a succession of forms. The ever-changing temporal world can thus, only be the source of opinion. 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.
Whilst the forms are invisible to the eye, our souls have participated in the eternal world of forms prior to being incarnate in a physical body, and retain a memory of them. 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

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