Page 8 - GALIET THE BEAUTIFUL FORMS PLATO IV++

Plato assumes two realms of existence: a visible, changing, lesser reality, and an invisible, unchanging, really real one.1 The lesser reality belongs to the sensory and imaginary realms, and perceives the effigies2 and reflections of myths3 in both Plato’s Den and in the Divided Line’s first segment, as imperfect shadows, appearances and opinions.4 By contrast, the really real reality belongs to the soul’s realm in Plato’s Hyper Ouranos or Heaven, and grasps the realm of the perfect and unchanging supra-sensible Forms. Plato argues that the Forms, the things-in-themselves, cannot be apprehended by the senses, but only by the soul, reason or noesis, which is an intellective seeing.5 When the soul is simply by itself,6 dwelling in the realm of the pure, immutable and immortal Forms, and looking at the Sun-in-itself, or at the Form of the Good-in-itself, it never strays, and experiences wisdom and truth.7 To Plato, this wisdom and truth cannot be fully grasped by the senses since they keep one too busy. They instigate endless distractions that prevent philosophical contemplation8 in a perennially changing Den-like-world. Plato believes the senses confuse and mislead the soul because the body, always changing and decaying, is also subject to endless appetites, desires and fears.9
Although Plato earnestly tries, he cannot entirely demote the sensory and imaginary realms to the lowest degree of being in Plato’s Den or to the Divided Line’s first segment. I argue, in Shelley’s spirit, that the sensory and imaginary realm can, indeed, grasp Plato’s transcendental Forms. The senses aid the imagination to perceive not only the essence of the things-in-themselves, but also their luminosity, oneness and sameness.
When Plato renounces his poetry for philosophy’s sake, image and imagination for reason, and shadows for the intelligible Forms,10 he demotes his sensible, subjective and imaginary self, essential for grasping the Forms in themselves. As a result, without an imaginary self, Plato ceases to conceive of anyone
1 Plato. Phaedo. 78e-79a. Both realms are also described in the allegory of Plato’s Cavern and the 4-Segment Divided Line. In fact, the Allegory of the Cavern explains the Divided Line and vice versa. In Plato’s Den and Line, prisoners (humans) ascend from a lesser degree of becoming to a greater degree of being, from ignorance to pure understanding, from shadows to sunlight. Thus, the Forms dwell in the loftiest point of the Line. As such, they possess pure being, pure truth and real existence. Images and imagination, on the other hand, dwell in the Cavern, where things are and are not, and in the first segment of the Line. Thus, images and imagination have much lesser being, truth and existence than the Forms, but more being, truth and existence than absolute 2 In Greek, ειδολος.
3 These are reflections of mythoi because the Cavern’s prisoners (humans) speak of what these images signify to them. Every prisoner, seeing the same effigies and shadows cast by the fire on the cavern’s wall, speaks of the same things to his fellow prisoners. They firmly believe they see and describe real things, when they only see and describe their images, shadows or appearances. These images, representations of representations, are a twice mimesis of nature. Please see Plato’s Theory of Art. Plato. Republic. Book X. 595. The same occurs when they hear the voices of the puppeteers behind them: they do not hear their real voices, but echoes bouncing from the Cavern’s wall. In every way, the prisoners take the shadows of the effigies for the truth. Plato. Republic. Book VII. 515c.
4 Please see note 1 and 3 above.
5 Plato. Phaedo. 65b-d. Plato’s notion of ‘seeing’ is not a ‘seeing with the eyes.’ Rather, it is the ‘inner vision’ of the soul and of reason. Only the soul and reason can ‘see’ the really real reality of perfect Ideas in themselves.
6 Plato asserts the soul must depart one’s body to grasp the perfect Forms. Only after death, the soul can grasp true objective knowledge in its totality. For only in death, the soul is separated and released from the body’s bond.
7 Plato.Phaedo.79d-e.
8 Plato. Phaedo. 66b-66e.
9 Plato.Phaedo.79c-d.
10 This is quoted from a lecture by Dr. Podleski, Professor Emeritus in Classical Studies, given to Arts One Students in the fall of 2003.
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