Iris Denner: Simile of the line (Assigned Readings)

Plato’s has this idea of perfect things that do not exist in the real world but rather the world we are in before we are born. For Plato, these perfect things are what everything else strives to become but cannot because our world is ever-changing. They are the most real things in the world and are flawless. This includes both physical objects but also concepts such as justice. In order to understand forms, one should understand the difference between a Particular and a Universal. Particulars are less real, but Universals are more real. Particulars are things that we see in the real world but are not the object itself, like a reflection or a shadow. Universals would include things such as forms and concepts such as love and ethics. The concept of something is the step before it becoming a true form. Forms are everywhere but not everything, one thing can be an example of a form but not the form itself. A butterfly can be present but not the perfect butterfly making it a concept or example of the butterfly form.