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Single Idea 360

[filed under theme 8. Modes of Existence / D. Universals / 6. Platonic Forms / a. Platonic Forms ]

Full Idea

We must have some previous knowledge of equality, before the time when we saw equal things, but realised that they fell short of it.

Gist of Idea

We must have a prior knowledge of equality, if we see 'equal' things and realise they fall short of it

Source

Plato (Phaedo [c.382 BCE], 075a)

Book Ref

Plato: 'The Last Days of Socrates', ed/tr. Tredennick,Hugh [Penguin 1969], p.124


The 21 ideas from 'Phaedo'

The ship which Theseus took to Crete is now sent to Delos crowned with flowers [Plato]
In investigation the body leads us astray, but the soul gets a clear view of the facts [Plato]
To achieve pure knowledge, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things with the soul [Plato]
War aims at the acquisition of wealth, because we are enslaved to the body [Plato]
Wisdom makes virtue and true goodness possible [Plato]
People are obviously recollecting when they react to a geometrical diagram [Plato]
If we feel the inadequacy of a resemblance, we must recollect the original [Plato]
We must have a prior knowledge of equality, if we see 'equal' things and realise they fall short of it [Plato]
It is a mistake to think that the most violent pleasure or pain is therefore the truest reality [Plato]
The greatest misfortune for a person is to develop a dislike for argument [Plato]
Whether the soul pre-exists our body depends on whether it contains the ultimate standard of reality [Plato]
One soul can't be more or less of a soul than another [Plato]
Do we think and experience with blood, air or fire, or could it be our brain? [Plato]
To investigate the causes of things, study what is best for them [Plato]
If you add one to one, which one becomes two, or do they both become two? [Plato]
Fancy being unable to distinguish a cause from its necessary background conditions! [Plato]
There is only one source for all beauty [Plato]
Other things are named after the Forms because they participate in them [Plato]
If Simmias is taller than Socrates, that isn't a feature that is just in Simmias [Plato]
If the Earth is spherical and in the centre, it is kept in place by universal symmetry, not by force [Plato]
Philosophy is a purification of the soul ready for the afterlife [Plato]