4. Plato's Form of the Good

this is the third video on Plato and we're going to take a closer look at the form of the good which we mentioned in the last video about Plato's theory of forms and it was at the very top of the hierarchy if you remember being the highest form and above all and the word for that is transcendent the form of the good transcends is above and beyond everything in some ways though it's also within everything to a greater or lesser extent for example a particular horse participates in the form of horse and every form is

a perfect idea remember so the former force is a perfect idea of force that means that it participates in the idea of perfection or in other words of complete goodness which is the form of the good so the particular horse participates in the form of the horse which then participates in the form of the good so all particulars participate in forms and all forms participate in the form of the good since each form is perfect therefore all particulars in all forms are ultimately contingent which means dependent on the form of the good and they're dependent

in two ways which Plato explains using an analogy or a comparison between the form of the good and the light of the Sun in our visible world he says that like the Sun which is the author and course whose light to make selfish and see and visible things to be seen the form of the good allows the rational part of us the soul to grasp or to understand the truths which are in the realm of the forms here Plato is focusing on how everything is dependent on the form of the good epistemic ly in other

words to be understood we need the form of the good to understand or to know anything it is the form of the good that illuminates if you like our rational part our soul so that we can access those truths he said as the good is in the intelligible region to reason and the objects of reason so is the Sun in the visible world to vision and the objects of vision he also argued that the more we inclined our reason toward the realm of the forms the more clearly we apprehend truth and the more we dwell

on corruptible and elusive particulars in the material world the less we apprehend truth and again he uses the idea of seeing to explain this when the eyes are directed upon objects illumined by the Sun they see clearly apply this comparison he says to the soul when it is firmly fixed on the domain where truth and reality shine resplendent it apprehends and knows them and appears to possess reason but when it inclines to that region which is mingled with darkness the world of becoming and passing away that's our empirical world our visible world it applies only

in other words only has opinions and again seems as if it lacked reason so the form of the good Plato says is what gives knowing to the knower it being the cause of knowledge and of truth the other way that everything is dependent or contingent on the form of the good is for its existence and again Plato uses the comparison of the Sun to explain this he says just as the Sun not only furnishes to visibles the power of visibility but also provides for their generation and growth in like manner the objects of knowledge lots

of forms not only receive from the presence of the good their being known but their very existence and essence in other words the form of the good is the cause of all that is correct and beautiful in anything it's the cause of everything's existence everything that is good and true secondly we could consider the form of the good in terms of immutability immutable remember means something that doesn't change the form of the good is intrinsically good it's good in itself in other words it's good for no other reason a good Plato says that is only

and merely good it is perfection or goodness itself and therefore it is incorruptible and so it can't change it's immutable and because if it could change then it could be corruptible it is also immutable because of its place in the realm of the forms and because that's the realm of truth and truth is unchanging thirdly we could consider the form of the good in terms of necessity necessary existence remember means not being dependent on anything else for its existence so it is not contingent unlike everything else that is dependent on it it is also eternal

it exists forever and has always been it relies on nothing else for its existence and lastly we could consider the form of the good in terms of the substance and what it's made of just like all other forms the form of the good is immaterial its non-physical and because if it were physical it would be corruptible and changeable so because it's not physical it can't be perceived via the senses empirically Plato said the ideas can be thought but not seen in other words it is what we would call non sensible this video has been brought

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