Single Idea 2143

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / a. Form of the Good]

Full Idea

As goodness stands in the intelligible realm to intelligence and the things we know, so in the visible realm the sun stands to sight and the things we see.

Gist of Idea

Good has the same role in the world of knowledge as the sun has in the physical world

Source

Plato (The Republic [c.371 BCE], 508c)

Book Reference

Plato: 'Republic', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP 1993], p.235


A Reaction

The claim seems to be that only goodness makes the world intelligible, but that strikes as closer to mysticism than to objective observation.