History of western ideas Course- Allied IV

Plato (rationalism)
Previous Year Broad Questions (’15-’18)

Courtesy- 53rd batch, Department of English,

University of Chittagong

 “Plato’s Republic presents a philosophic vision of a realm of eternal

truth.” Do you agree? (’18)

 Yes, I go along with this statement. In accordance with Plato’s Republic, eternal truths
exist in the realm of ideas rather than in what we would call the natural or physical
world. These eternal truths can exist in our minds, but they cannot be perceived out in
the physical world. Truth does not exist in the world that we can see with our senses,
sight, sound etc. It reveals only a fallen, shadow, incomplete versions of this ideal truth .
So attempting to understand the truth of things by examining the natural world is not
only folly, but likely dangerously misleading. This physical world confuses us more,
tricking us into believing false visions of truth. Plato’s vision is this is not the true world,
the sensible world meaning the world perceived by our senses. It is in most ways
opposite of scientific thinking which is founded on the assumption that the physical,
natural world is 'real' and this is the only one that we can understand. Plato’s vision
transparently means that only ideas encapsulate the true and essential nature of things,
in a way that physical form cannot. The physical world is not as real or true as timeless,
absolute, unchangeable ideas. For instance, every person we see and spend time with
will die someday. But the concept of ‘person’ is unchanging or relatively eternal. Thus
the physical living people we see in the natural world are transitory but the idea of
‘people’ is eternal. There is no single person who puts in a nutshell the entire concept of
‘human being’. Yet the idea ‘human being’ describes all human beings. Therefore, the
concept is more complete and everlasting compared to the people who live and die in
the physical world. This is true of everything else in the physical world: there is no
example of anything that perfectly represents and every physical thing is transient; it
changes. Meanwhile the ideas are eternally immutable. Plato’s the divided line is an
outline of his idea of eternal truth. To him, Truth lays in an abstract ideal. Philosophical
contemplations rather than observation- is the road toward truth. Plato says, “the soul
cannot come into the form of a man if it has never seen the truth.” Plato’s vision is an
 abstraction, divorced from the so-called external world. Plato sums up this vision in his
Republic which is known as Platonic Idealism. And this idealism drives me to my assent.
 Prepared by- Mohammad Sabetul Islam

 How does Plato define Forms? (’17)

 The ancient Greek philosopher Plato is one of the world's most known and widely read
philosophers. One of his most influential contributions to philosophy was the Theory of
Form.

 According to Plato's philosophy, there exist two realms: the physical realm and the
spiritual realm. The physical realm is the material objects we see and interact with on a
daily basis. This realm can be touched, it is changing and imperfect. On the other hand,
the spiritual realm also called the realm of Forms or Ideas exist beyond the physical
realm. The realm of Form is everlasting, it is invisible and perfect. Plato is a believer of
static realm so he asserts that the physical stuffs we interact everyday are the copy of
the Forms exists in our mind. Plato said that" The Forms are the causes of all our
knowledge of all objects. The Forms contribute all order and intelligibility to all
objects. Since we can only know something insofar as it has some order or Form. The
Forms are the source of the intelligibility of all material objects”. As the physical world
is the shadow or image of the spiritual world, this is not true reality. We can't derive
true knowledge from the physical world as it is imperfect and changing. It is the realm of
Forms we get our idea from. Though this realm is abstract, it doesn’t mean that it is not
real rather according to Plato it is more real than the physical world. It is the ultimate
reality. For instance, concepts like good and bad, round and square, beautiful and ugly,
Justice "etc." are the Forms. The individual objects like square box, beautiful girl, good
person reside in the physical world are the different examples of the Form.

 To understand it better, we can think of two triangles drawn by two different persons.
The two triangles are likely a bit imperfect and a little different from each other. For
example, their angles might not be 90 degrees, the lines might not be exactly straight
and the size and color might also be different. In Plato's term these two triangles reside
in the physical realm. Despite all these differences, there is something that unites the
both triangles. It is the form of triangle. The two different persons share the same
concept of what triangle is. Though their drawn two triangles are slightly different from
each other but their concept of the triangle is similar, unchanging and perfect. Because
of its unchanging nature and perfectness, the realm of Form is more real than the
 physical realm. So According to Plato, it is form that ensures us true reality and true
knowledge.
 Prepared by- Farjana Akhtar

 Discuss Plato's "Allegory of the cave". (’17)

 The allegory of the cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Greek
philosopher Plato in his work Republic. It is written as a dialogue between Plato's
brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, narrated by the latter. In the allegory,
Socrates describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of
their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from
objects passing in front of a fire behind them and give names to these shadows. The
shadows are the prisoners' reality but are not accurate representations of the real
world. Socrates explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the
cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not reality at all. A
philosopher aims to understand and perceive the higher levels of reality. However, the
other inmates of the cave do not desire to leave their prison, as the prison is their
reality. The allegory contains many forms of symbolism used to instruct the reader in
the nature of perception. The cave represents superficial physical reality. It also
represents ignorance, as those in the cave live accepting what they see at face value.
Ignorance is further represented by the darkness that engulfs them because they cannot
know the true objects that form the shadows, leading them to believe the shadows are
the true forms of the objects. The chains that prevent the prisoners from leaving the
cave represent that they are trapped in ignorance, as the chains are stopping them from
learning the truth. The shadows cast on the walls of the cave represent the superficial
truth, which is the illusion that the prisoners see in the cave. The freed prisoner
represents those who understand that the physical world is only a shadow of the truth,
and the sun that is glaring the eyes of the prisoners represents the higher truth of ideas.
The light further represents wisdom, as even the paltry light that makes it into the cave
allows the prisoners to know shapes. The Allegory of the cave may be viewed as a
devastating criticism of the daily human lives as being in bondage to superficialities to
shadow rather than substance. The Allegory of the cave maybe taken as an equally
devastating criticism of much of the science. It can also be seen as a political allegory. It
is an allegory of the philosopher-king. As Plato thought the philosopher king will be the
liberated one having made the ascent to know the truth and the good has a mission to
return to the cave to bring enlightenment. The Allegory of the cave is an allegory of
despair and hope. Though human live in a time of crisis there is a hope of good life too
which Plato's allegory shows.
 Prepared by- Jawadul Zaman Aranno
 Give an evaluation of Plato’s ideal state. (‘16)

 Plato’s Idea of an Ideal state was a republic with three categories of citizens: artisans,
auxiliaries, and philosopher-kings, each of whom possessed distinct natures and
capacities. Those proclivities, moreover, reflected a particular combination of elements
within one's tripartite soul, composed of appetite, spirit, and reason. Below are some
points which elaborate critical evaluation of Plato ideal state.

 Theoretical concept of Plato’s State:

 Plato’s concept of the ideal state is only an idea. It is an idea that cannot be applied. It is
only an interesting story. State is to serve human beings and not to engulf their
individual status. His ideal state demands sacrifices only.

 Self-contradictory:
 The main principles of his ideal state are mutually different. On one side, he says about
justice and equality while on the other hand, expounds communism that is to deprive
the two classes from the private ownership and natural family life. Further, the majority
professional class is free of communism. It is clearly against the concept of justice and
equality. So, his concepts of communism and justice are colliding with each other.
Temporary marriages and nationalization of all the means of production are not natural
and are against human nature

 Functional Specialization:
 Plato’s classes in the social life on the basis of functions are impracticable. These classes
are the result of education system. Learning capabilities may change from time to time
while likes and dislikes are also not fixed. He reserves the ruling chairs for the
philosophers that mean he prefers intelligence but ignores characters. It is not must that
a philosopher an intelligent person or highly educated person will be a man of good
moral character. He even bans character-building elements like arts and literature in his
ideal state.
 Education System:
 Plato presented a detailed scheme of education but his educational plan may be
criticized on the grounds that he gave undue importance to music, logic, games and
philosophy. He ignored the important disciplines like Law, History, Psychology and
physical sciences etc. His steps of education are very tight and age wise. He fails to
understand that learning capabilities vary with the change in age and environment.
 Concept of Justice:
 Platonic theory of justice may also be criticized. His concept of justice is not clear and
colliding with his other concepts of ideal state. Fie believes in non-interference of
individuals but person is a social animal and his civilized social existence is in need of
interrelations and interference. The three classes cannot remain separated. Plato
himself says that justice is to give what is due. A rifle is due to a mad but can we allow
him to have a rifle?

 Absolute Monarchy:
 Plato favored absolute monarchy. He gives the ruling power to one or few and not to
law. Plato’s absolute monarchy is the monopoly of a particular class to rule the state
and the remaining people are nothing but have been considered to be ruled. State is for
serving people and its rulers must be the representatives and servants of the ruled.
 Abolition of Slavery:
 Plato in his ideal state is silent to reject slavery. He sacrifices humanity and advocates
human services for the state and not in the benefits and interests of the people. So, he
himself is against the human equality and liberty.

 No Constitution:
 Plato fails to provide any constitution for his ideal state. There is no systematic structure
of legislature, executive, civil service, local government, human rights and political
parties etc.

 Although Plato political idea is composite of realities and utopia but despite the above
negative points, Plato ideal state concept plays very important role in politics. His
concept of justice and communism are applicable thoughts. His concept of state is
useful for the students of political science even today. This is the reason why it is the
part of academic course.
 Prepared by- Hadia Sultana

 Discuss Plato’s concept of soul. (’15)

 In The Republic, Plato defines his idea that there is a tripartite soul. In other words, each
person’s soul is divided into three different parts, and these parts simply balance from one
person to the next.
 The concept of the soul is a part of Plato's moral philosophy. He calls these parts as reason,
spirit and appetite. He discovered that there are three different kinds of activity going on in a
person. First, there is an awareness of a goal; this is the act of reason. Second, there is the drive
toward action -the spirit. Last, there is the desire for the things of the body, the appetites. Plato
portraits a comparison to these elements with the charioteer driving two horses the charioteer,
 by being what he is-namely the one who holds the reins-has the duty, the right, and the function
to guide and control the horses. In the same way the rational part of the soul has the right to
rule the spirited and appetitive parts. That’s why the rational part of our soul is namely, a goal-
seeking and measuring faculty. If this part seeks true goal of human life, things will turn into
moral side. Otherwise we become unhappy and experience a general disorder of the human
soul. This confusion occurs chiefly when our passions override our reason. There can be order
between the charioteer and the horses only if the charioteer is in control. Similarly, our human
souls can achieve order and peace only if our rational part-our reason-is in control of our spirit
and appetites.
 Prepared by- Jishan Uddin

Inspired by- Nur Islam Biplob Vai

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