Form of the Good

The highest of all Forms in Plato’s hierarchy is the ’Form of the Good’.

HigherForms

LowerForms

Ideals(Forms of concepts)

Forms of Phenomena

HighestForm

Form of theGood

Plato compared the Form of the Good to the light of the sun.

Light allows the eye to see objects by illuminating them.

Metaphor explainedIlluminate: increase Sight: understandingEye: soulObject: truth

Can you link this to the analogy of the cave and to the rest of Plato’s theory of Forms?Can you link this analogy to Christianity e.g. Jesus as the light of the world, the healing of the blind man, similarities between the Christian concept of God and the Form of the Good?

EXTEND

Using the above key, can you unlock the meaning of Plato’s analogy?

Contingency

How do you think the other Forms might be epistemologically contingent

on the Form of the Good? What about particulars in the empirical

world? EXTEND

Consider how all other Forms and all particulars might be ontologically contingent (depend for their existence) on the Form of the Good and what this might mean for the claim that each Form has necessary existence (cannot not exist).

Epistemologically contingentOur understanding of all other Forms and of all particulars is contingent (dependent) on our understanding of goodness. As such, it is the ultimate truth and object of knowledge.

E.g. We wouldn’t know what a good example of a unicorn was, if we did not understand goodness itself to some degree…or a good knife, or a good example of justice.

TEST YOURSELF Give your own example.

Unpack the quotation…

“…[The Form of the Good] is the cause of all that is correct and beautiful in anything, that it produces both light and its source in the visible realm, and that in the intelligible realm it controls and provides truth and understanding…”

Plato

TEST YOURSELF

Plato compared the Form of the Good to the light of the SUN…

…how is the Form of the Good like the sun?

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If the Form of the Good were a Mr Man or Little Miss…

…which might it be and why?

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• Plato suggests that all Forms are in some way good (we will look at this in more detail). But what about evil things – do they have Forms?

Something isn’t evil or ugly, but does not instantiate goodness or beauty well.

Do we really want to see ‘evil’ as just a lack of goodness?

Link to Augustine’s definition of evil.EXTEND

Weaknesses

Word Linksun

metaphor

Form of the Good

sightknowledge

truth

illuminatecontingent

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