Starter
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson you will:
 Have refreshed your knowledge of the
Allegory of the Cave
 Understand Plato’s Theory of Forms
 Be able to reflect on the strengths and
weaknesses of the Theory

Think back to what we learned in or first
lesson. What is real? How do you know?

Plato’s Forms attempts to answer this
question in the Allegory of the Cave
through the World of the Forms.
Plato’s Theory of Forms
The idea of the Forms is illustrated in the
Allegory of the Cave.
 Plato believed true reality existed beyond
normal perceptions of the world.
 What we perceive around us is a shadow
of this truth.

Plato’s Theory of Forms
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According to Plato the world we live in is a poor imitation
of the real world.
Our world is constantly changing and we rely on our
senses to understand what is going on.
You are not the same person you were 3
years/hours/seconds ago, cells are forever changing and
ideas flit through our minds.
Plato was therefore sure that the real world is outside the
one we live in.
This real world is unchanging and eternal. It is the world
of ideas not senses, where there are perfect forms of the
things we know on earth.
Card Sort
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Into those of the Material World, and those of the World
of the Forms.
The Material World
The World of the Forms
Transitory- moves in time and space
Outside of time and space
Relative
Real and absolute
Changing
Unchanging
Impermanent
Permanent
Superficial
What matters most
Contradictory- are subject to opinion
Sensory
NO-contradiction- they are NOT subject
to opinion
Beyond the senses
Can be measured
Immeasurable
Imperfect
Perfect
Activity

Draw a dog or
write down the
essential qualities
that define a dog
It is impossible to get a clear definition and
rule out other animals at the same time.
 A 3 year old would have no problem
distinguishing a dog from another animal.
 The child is identifying the form whilst we
are getting bogged down with the details.
 The Form is not a shape, it is the essence
of an object.
 A dog and all dogs have a degree of
‘dogginess’ due to participating in the
form.
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Reading philosophy
Read the information sheet on the word of
the forms.
 Use a highlighter and then summarise
each paragraph in the margin. Does it
raise any questions?

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Get to the end and then think ‘so’?
Let’s think about Beauty?

What comes into your mind when you
think of the word ‘beauty’?

With the person next to you talk about
something or someone who you would
describe as ‘beautiful’
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The beautiful person
participates or shares in
beauty with all other
beautiful things, but
beauty itself is beyond
our normal perception.
“Her eyes are too close
together” – we can
recognise that she falls
short of beauty and thus
understand the concept
of beauty due to our prior
knowledge, yet we have
not ever experienced a
perfect example of
beauty.
Summing up...
The Material World
(our world)
Here the material
objects exist, subject to
change and decay.
They take their identity
from the way that they
conform to their
corresponding idea in
the world of the Forms.
The
material
world is a
shadow of
the ‘real’
world of
the Forms.
The World of the
Forms
Here the patterns for
the objects and
concepts for the
material world exist in
a state of unchanging
perfection.
It is the job of the philosopher
to break free from the
shackles of the material world
and find the world of the
Forms.
Task
Draw a cartoon/diagram/picture of the
philosopher looking up to the sun
surrounded by lesser ‘earth-bound
mortals’.
 Demonstrate your understanding of Plato’s
Theory of Forms by using arrows to
explanations or other images if you wish.
 This will be a good revision aid later.
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Traffic lights…
Could you explain the Allegory of the
Cave in your own words?
 Do you know the difference between
the material world and the world of the
Forms?
 Could you explain why Plato says the
world we live in is not the real world?
 Could you give a definition of a Form?
 Do you understand Plato’s Theory of
the Forms?
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Task
In your groups
 Re-create/animate Plato’s Cave and
ideas about forms using the PlayDoh and film it
 Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is
symbolic - each of the different
ideas must be explained
 You have 30 minutes before we
move on to some more hard stuff!!

Create a table of strengths and
weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
Evaluating the World of Forms –
Plato’s understanding
Plato is going to argue that through the use of
reason or our mind we can recall what our soul
remembers from the WoF. We recognise
beauty, truth or justice because we have seen
this before.
 At face value this seems plausible. The task of
the philosopher is to seek out true reality by
training himself not to see the ‘shadows’ of the
physical world around him.
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Mini whiteboards

Criticise Plato! How many criticisms can
you come up with in your groups?
Basic Problems
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THERE IS NO PROOF OF THE
WORLD OF FORMS! We only have
Plato’s theory and a flawed analogy
to explain the WoF.
(1902 – 1994) : Believed that
Plato sought permanence in the WoF as
a way of dealing with the uncertainty of
life. Plato couldn’t accept that TRUE
REALITY can change – someone like
Popper would ask ‘Why can’t true reality
change?’. If Popper is right then there is
no need to posit the existence of another
realm to find the truth.
 Popper
Another Problem..
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Aristotle had several criticisms of Plato, particularly
the Form of the Good.
He suggested that Good comes in so many varieties
that there cannot be one Form of it; Goodness of a
person is different from the Goodness of a shovel. A
person may be a Good person but a bad shovel. In
essence Aristotle was looking at purpose as the
definition of whether something was good, in other
words something was good in relation to something
else – a good knife is one that cuts, a bad one doesn’t
fulfil its purpose as something that cuts.
More problems
Aristotle also suggested that something does
not have to be eternal to be pure. Something
white does not become more white if it is eternal
– eternity and whiteness are different qualities
(meaning that the realness of something does
not depend on it remaining unchanged as Plato
tried to suggest).
 The Forms have no real practical use. They
cannot be applied in the physical world.
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Traffic lights…
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Could you explain at least 3 criticisms
of the WoF?
Imagine Meeting Plato
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Come up with 3 good questions that you
would ask him to help you understand his
theories.
Er, excuse
me, Mr
Plato?