Is Socrates Form of the Good Correct Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is Socrates Form of the Good Correct - Essay Example One of these entities is goodness or good, which is considered to be one of the causes of many of the things that are experienced daily in the visible realm. Something is considered to have a certain level of goodness because it participates in the Form of Good. According to Plato, Forms are the only things that can be known about, that is, they are the only things that can be considered to be objects of knowledge (Welton 20). In other words the form of the good, according to Plato, is ultimately to be treated as the object of knowledge, even though it is not really knowledge itself. Socrates, through Plato, is convinced that just gains its usefulness through the Good. I believe that Socrates is right in philosophizing that from Good emanates everything else, including knowledge and justice. Form of the Good Plato does not specifically say what the form of good is, but he does say that the knowledge of the form of the good is the most important or the highest knowledge that philosoph er kings should aspire. He says â€Å"What gives truth to the things known and the power to know to the knower is the Form of the Good, and though it is the cause of knowledge and truth, it is also an object of knowledge† (Plato and Jowett 46). ... All the prisoners get to see are shadows which are visibly moving on the wall. These shadows are not of people, but of statues being moved from above them but the prisoners cannot see this. They think that the shadows they see moving on the walls in front of them are real people, they cannot conceive a better reality in their present state. Socrates likens these prisoners with people who live thinking that the reality is composed of the fantasies they hear about in stories (Welton 47). Once the prisoners are released it is then they realize that what they thought were real people were actually lifeless statues (Anna 85). However, they would still think that the statues are real, just like a person who is used to the sounds and sights of the world would think that there was nothing more real than their own experiences. If the prisoners wander out into the open world, they might at first be blinded by the sun’s light, but with time, they come to the realization that there are ot her things and objects in the world. They will then think that these objects are real, just like a person who finally gets the knowledge of the Forms that comprise everyday existence. In conclusion the prisoners will come to look at the sun and realize that it is the source of the light that is making it possible for them to see all the objects that they are seeing; it is the source of all life and all light. According to Socrates, the Form of the Good is therefore like the sun; it is the source of everything found in the intelligible world (91). Socrates asks his students and friends to visualize a line that is halved in two and four. According to Socrates, the upper part of the halved line