To what extent is it true to say that the Forms teach us nothing about the physical world?

Answer 1

Plato; a Greek philosopher, suggested that we live in what he called The World of Appearances/ Shadows but that the real world is a world full of ideas called The World of the Forms. However how can any other worlds are proven other than The World of Appearances as we have no evidence to back anything up? The World of Forms is about recollection, imagination and what appears to be in our mind as we all have an imprint of this world hidden in our soul but that still doesn't mean that it is even real. Therefore if that isn't true either, how can it teach us anything about our real world?

Plato believed the world we live in are only a world of appearances and we only see what we want to see as we are blinded from the truth and that our world isn't actually that real. He believed that there is another world and that this world is where the true forms of everything existed and only left a mere imprint on our world and in our souls.

Plato argued this world was unchanging and that it was only a world of ideas and concepts that made every object what it is. For example there are lots of different types of cat. He believed in the world of the forms that what makes a cat a cat existed there and is imprinted onto our souls allowing us to identify all the different types of cat as cats.

But even if it was proven with evidence that The World of the Forms was real and we could travel there as it is full of perfection and allows us to see the true concepts of life, most people would not want to go because they are contend with their life now and know exactly how to react and relate to the things around us as we have been bought up with it. We do not know any different than this world and therefore do not know if we can even trust what is told to us.

Lots of people are non-believing of the world of the forms because how can we be living in a world of the shadows if we have senses such as touch, sight and sound which allow us to have a physical aspect to our world and shadows are not a physical element as you cannot hear or touch them only see with light (as proven from The Allegory of the Cave). Plato is trying to convey that we are trapped in a world of shadows and when we are born we have a dim recollection of the forms because they re sub to the real forms and shadows are just a cast off from a real/true object.

Ideas are not independent in our mind and therefore even though they are preserved we cannot trust them and therefore we are easily lead to believe the wrong things. One criticism of the World of the Forms is that it doesn't teach us anything that is relatable. Nothing can be a perfect replica of its form so everything in the world of appearances is but an imperfect replica of its form.

Answer 2

It is not entirely true to say that the Forms teach us nothing about the physical world, as they provide a framework for understanding the nature of reality beyond the physical realm. While the Forms may not directly represent physical objects, they offer insights into the underlying principles and perfect ideals that shape our perceptions of the physical world.