Plato’s Theory of Ideas: Political and Philosophical Implications
Plato’s Theory of Ideas
The Theory of Ideas http://castellafilovetula.blogspot.com/2010/11/la-teoria-de-las-ideas.html
Understanding Plato’s theory of ideas requires consideration of its political positioning. Plato posited that politics should be a science, governed only by those with sufficient knowledge of what is just and right.
The fact that rulers often make unjust decisions, following their own interests, led to a theoretical reflection aimed at designing a political project for a perfect polis, where justice and harmony prevail. This approach relies on Socratic moral intellectualism, which states that anyone who truly knows what justice is will act justly. Plato calls this governing through wisdom.
This knowledge cannot be found in the sensible realm, which is accessed through the senses. The sensible world is characterized by constant change, and Plato believed that reliable and definitive knowledge cannot be derived from what is always changing. At best, one can only form opinions, which may coincide with the truth by chance.
It is essential to transcend the level of sensitivity to access the realm of what Plato called ideas, forms, or eidos: the real facts, real essences, accessible only through pure rationality. These are opposing realities to those of the sensible world, whose being is indisputable.
Compared to the materiality of the sensible, ideas are immaterial. Compared to the multiplicity of the sensible, ideas are unique. Compared to the particularity of the sensible, ideas are archetypal, existing on their own and causing essential things in the world of sense.
Plato conducted a thorough analysis of the intelligible realm and concluded that the world of ideas is perfectly ordered and hierarchical, with the Idea of the Good at the top, the foundation of all being. The main functions of this concept in Plato’s work are:
- Ontological: The idea of goodness is the highest degree of reality, the essential cause of the being of other ideas and things in the sensible world.
- Epistemological: It is the cause of the intelligibility of other ideas. Rational ideas are due to participation in the very idea of goodness.
- Ethical and Political: It is the ethical foundation. Knowledge is necessary to guide both private and public life. Rulers must have accessed the intellectual intuition of the Idea of Goodness to govern accordingly.
This theory presents a clear ontological dualism, which only has value when accessed through pure rationality. In this intelligible realm, knowledge of the sensible world is possible. This knowledge is indispensable for anyone who aspires to govern the polis, as it provides a radical solution to the injustices caused by chaos and the lack of reasoning that has characterized the government of many cities.