Aspects of Plato's Theory of Ideas

Thus, it can be seen that the sense is the link which exists between the real world and the world of Ideas.

Plato's scheme of Ideas divides the universe into two separate realities which be polar opposites of one another. In this regard, the Ideas atomic number 18 "permanent, unvarying, eternal realities, in contrast to the shifting, imperfect, material phenomena of the senses" (Grant 217). This point is clarified in the dialogue Phaedo, in which Socrates argues with Cebes everywhere the nature of the spirit. Using the dialectic, or question-and-answer method, Socrates indicates that the true reality of Ideas is out of sight to the senses. In addition, Socrates argues that the Ideas which form "absolute reality" remain "of all time constant and invariable" (Plato 61). By contrast, the things of the material world are clearly microscopic to the senses and are constantly undergoing change. Thus, in this way, Socrates claims that on that point are "two classes of things, one visible and the other invisible," with "the visible being invariable, and the visible never being the same" (62). Socrates wherefore goes on to indicate that the body is part of the visible world, whereas the individual is part of the invisible world. Therefore, the theory of Ideas holds that material objects are ideas are two "differing degrees of reality," with the w

This leads directly to the terce stage, in which the aspiring philosopher begins to see the saucer which is contained in the sciences. The beauty of the sciences is equivalent to the beauty of intimacy or wisdom. With this stage, the person starts sorrowful beyond the love of material beauty and begins focusing on the goal of the Idea of Beauty. Thus, "turning his eyes toward the open ocean of beauty, he will find in such mirror image the seed of the most fruitful discourse and the loftiest thought, and reap a golden harvest of philosophy, until, confirmed and strengthened, he will draw upon one single form of knowledge, the knowledge of beauty" (Plato 562).

Grant, Michael. The unpolluted Greeks. New York: Charles Scribner's, 1989.

Having achieve this pure knowledge of Truth and Beauty, the philosopher simultaneously attains a type of immortality which goes beyond that of the body. Therefore, it is indicated in the Symposium that he who has attained the virtue of the Idea of Beauty can be "called the champion of god, and if ever it is granted to man to put on immortality, it shall be given to him" (Plato 563). In contrast to the immortality of the body, which involves having children in the physiological world, the immortality of the soul which results from apprehension of the Idea of Beauty is a higher and more pure form of immortality. In order to achieve this take of perception, the seeker of Truth must be able to go beyond the limits of the senses to the level of pure knowledge. According to Plato's theory, Ideas are situated in a realm which is directly opposite to that of the sensory, physical world. Therefore, it stands to reason that the apprehension of Ideas requires the use of a pure knowledge which is nonsensual and intuitive.

The Symposium addresses these issues and shows that pure knowledge provides the ability to apprehend the Ideas of Truth and Beauty. The Symposium presents a series of speeches on the God of Love which are given after a
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