Plato's Theory of Knowledge and the Intelligible World

1. The Platonic Conception of Knowledge

Knowing is defined as understanding the universal and becoming familiar with the Ideas. These exist not in the immediate world, but above it. Plato utilizes two primary explanations:

• Reminiscence: A mythical explanation of how knowledge transitions from the sensible world to the world of ideas.
• Dialectic: The process of ascending from lower knowledge toward the Idea of the Good.

Knowledge of Sensible Objects

This produces mere opinion rather than true knowledge:

• Conjecture: Knowledge of images, shadows, and reflections. These are neither discernible, demonstrable, nor intuited.
• Belief (Faith): Knowledge of directly detectable sensible things, such as nature and art. These are imperfect copies of ideas and lack demonstration or intuition.

Knowledge of the Intelligible World

This represents true knowledge:

• Discursive Reason: Provides knowledge of mathematical objects, which serve as intermediate entities between the sensible and intelligible realms.
• Intuitive Reason: Provides knowledge of ideas known directly through intellectual vision without sensory aid. Dialectic is essential for this degree of knowledge.

2. Knowing as Remembering: Recollection

Upon incarnation, the soul forgets its origin in the world of ideas. However, through sensory perception of the physical world, the soul recalls its original knowledge. For example, while no two horses are perfectly equal, observing them allows us to recognize the concept of a "horse" through its Idea.

3. Dialectics

For Plato, dialectics involves the hierarchical relationship between ideas. It functions as a synthesis that leads from lower to higher concepts in a process of intellectual ascension.

4. The Platonic Conception of Love

In Greek, love is expressed through three distinct terms:

1. Eros: Love linked to desire.
2. Philia: Similar to friendship.
3. Agape: A form of esteem or selfless love.

5. Platonic Cosmology

Plato maintained that true science is reserved for the world of ideas. The Timaeus begins by asserting the distinction between the world of things and the world of ideas, where the relationship between them is defined by imitation. The Cosmos (the world of things) is born by: