Platonic Forms

1. What are Platonic Forms? Include as many features as you can think of. Plato’s metaphysics was known as the Theory of Forms. According to Plato’s Theory of Forms, what is truly real is not the objects we encounter in sensory, or tactile experience, but in Forms. These Forms can only be grasped intellectually, they are non-physical ideas that represent the most accurate reality. In some cases we call the Theory of Forms, Theory of Ideas. For example, take a perfect triangle, this would be a description of the Form, or idea, of a triangle. Plato states these Forms exist in an abstract state, we can try to draw the perfect triangle, but our attempts will fall short. No matter how good of an artist we are, our physical representation will never be perfect. Our attempts of precision will end up being a poor replica of the perfect idea, much like everything in this
So, if a person steps in a river at one point of time, and then steps into the same river, the same spot an hour later, they are not stepping into the same water. You can further argue, it is not even the same river. It will never be the same river, even if the water cycles back to that river – it will never be the same. Even my childhood favorite movie agreed with this idea, in the movie Pocahontas she say, “What I love most about rivers is that you can’t step in the same river twice, the water is always changing, always flowing.” For me, I believe the river is always moving because it’s alive, so it’s never the same. Every day people change because they have new experiences. This shapes us into the people we are today. So, you cannot step into the same river twice. We also encounter new people who influence us, and we in exchange affect their lives. In most instances we are not even aware of this change