Plato and Platonism
Plato commented that Man stood upright on
two legs without feathers, making him distinct
from other animals; this definition was rebuffed
by Diogenes of Sinope, who brought Plato a
plucked chicken.
Plato and Platonism
There is a nonphysical essence of all things
referred to as the “Ideas” or “Forms”.
The objects in the physical world are merely
imitations of these essences.
Knowledge is Innate in the Soul.
To learn is to Remember.
We are connected to the Real World of Forms.
Knowledge is Innate in the Soul.
To learn is to Remember.
We are connected to the Real World of Forms.
Rationalism
Knowledge comes from the intellect,
not the senses.
1. Some things we do Not learn from our
Senses, such as truth, justice, beauty, virtue...
2. We Know these things by Direct Intellection
(Innate Knowledge).
3. We are prone to Forgetting by distraction
with the world of sensation.
4. We Learn (Remember) through Correct
thinking.
Plato’s Theory of Knowledge
In order to understand the world we must move away from all
the “messy” stuff and move in the the realm of pure thought.
1. Some things we do Not learn from our
Senses, such as truth, justice, beauty, virtue...
2. We Know these things by Direct Intellection
(Innate Knowledge).
3. We are prone to Forgetting by distraction
with the world of sensation.
4. We Learn (Remember) through Correct
thinking.
Plato’s Theory of Knowledge
Plato and Platonism
What Am I?
Moderate Dualism; the Soul exists separately from
the Body. They are different substances.
“The soul of man is immortal and imperishable.”
Soma Sema: “The body is the prison of the soul”
The Demiurge, the Divine Craftsman.
Plato and Platonism
What Am I?
Reincarnation & pre-existence
The union of Body and Soul on earth is natural.
Plato and Platonism
What Am I?
Three Parts of the Soul
1. The Rational (Mind/Intellect)
2. The Spirited (Driving Force)
3. Appetite (Desire or Instincts)
Plato and Platonism
What does Platonism mean?
Fundamental Features
1. Distrust of Material World (Rationalism over
Empiricism)
2. Top-Down Metaphysical Approach
3. There is a Greater Reality
4. The Immortal Soul
Beyond Plato: Neo-Platonism
Plotinus (204-
270)
“Those doctrines which Plotinus had given a
shadowy form of a triune spirit binding all reality,
of a Logos or intermediary deity who had done the
work of creation, of soul as divine and matter as
flesh and evil, of spheres of existence along whose
invisible stairs the soul had fallen from God to man
and might extend from man to God-these mystic
ideas left their mark on the apostles John and
Paul...”
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and the man became a living being.”
The human person is a person in relation
to Yahweh.
Created by God
The Image of God
Adam is One
Unique
“The soul is immortal and imperishable.”
Moderate Dualism: The soul is primary, the body houses it.
Reason will lead us to the Good Life.
The lack of Reason will lead us to debauchery.
A Rational Being
Notes de l'éditeur
Numenius (2nd cent) quoted by Eusebius,
A Neo-Pythagorean that sought to update Plato and had a high regard for Moses.
Most ancient philosophies were highly influenced by Plato.
Lloyd Gerson’s What is Platonism? found in…
Journal of History of Philosophy, vol 43, no. 3 (2005) 253-276
The “Official” Birth of Philosophy.
A Gadfly: What is Truth, Justice, Good…
Turning Inward, exploring the Self.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“All I know is that I know nothing.”
His real name was Aristocles.
“Plato” was a nick-name, meaning Broad Shoulder, fitting for a wrestler.
The Problem with Dialogues….
Plato’s criticism of society.
Get out of the cave to see how things really are.
Most stay in the cave being told how things are.
We are being told what to think and believe.
Blow up the TV and check out reality.
This will be the Heart of Platonism.
Ultimate Reality is beyond the things around us.
There are, in a sense, TWO REALITIES.
One is an Imitation of the Other.
Hebrews 8: 5, the tabernacle was a shadow of the heavenly tabernacle…
Solomon built the temple from the image that David saw…
2 Corinthians 5: 1, a city not made by hands…
TRUTH is in the essences, while truth is in the physical.
Remember, Plato is at the beginning of understanding the world.
I already know what a horse is, I already know what a good horse is. How?
I was born knowing!
How do I know what Justice is? Beauty?
I must already have a notion of what Beauty is.
Distrusting the Physical World and senses, because the physical is constantly changing.
Yes, I know everything. We are born knowing.
Why? Because my Soul is Immortal.
I am connected to the Essence of all things.
Strong on Intuition, Revelation, Looking for Truth beyond the Senses.
We can see beyond the shadows, using Reason.
Is there a Platonic Reality?
The Necessity of the Immortal Soul
4. The teacher as Midwife, Socratic Questioning.
The physical world is a distraction.
A Debate, was Plato anti-body? Its dialogue folks!
Socrates/Plato had an appreciation of Beauty, including human beauty.
Phaedo: Soma Sema: “The Body equals the tomb”.
Timaeus: Demiurge: One who works for the people.
The Mind is what matters.
I am an intellectual entity whose essential nature exists as separate from the physical world.
The Mind is what matters.
2. The Will
1. Ideas over facts. How things should be rather than how they are.
Truth, Justice, Beauty, Meaning, Clear Thinking, Logic, Mathematics…
4. The soul must be immortal.
There will be many different varieties of Platonists throughout history.
Knowledge from above or knowledge from all around us.
Raphael's The School of Athens in the Vatican Museum.
Most philosophers looked back to Plato in one way or another.
Its been claimed that Platonism is the starting point for most ancient philosophies.
Almost everyone looks back to Plato’s Socrates as a starting point.
There were & are many different versions of Platonism.
Like many different Systematic Theologies.
Bringing the Platonic Essences closer to home.
Plato was Rational, this guy is Mystical.
Plato wanted Knowledge, Plotinus wanted Union.
MONISM! The One is Beyond Being
Intellect: Nous
World-Soul: Spirit, the Oriental Chi, life-force
Material World: Neither Good or Evil in itself
Evil is corruption or lack of the Good.
Tertullian (155-220)
Will Durant
Platonic Doctrines and Early Christian Theology.
The early Christians did not receive their doctrines from Platonism,
But, Platonism did eventually have an influence on the development of doctrines.
For Augustine Neo-Platonism was a steeping stone on his journey to Christianity.
Created with a purpose
Image and Son-ship
Adam is one, no (weak) dualism.
A creature with a purpose