Athens (2)

This synopsis about Plato's philosophy comes from the mass
of notes I took over the many months while studying at the
Academy. Later I'll put all these notes of mine to better use.

As I have come to understand, Plato's "Forms" are considered
to be ideas that are *not* just thoughts coming from our own
minds, but rather are inborn or *a priori* patterns that are an
immutable part of the structure of Reality. For example, before
we could build square buildings or perceive triangular objects
there existed in our mind the idea (or concept) of the Square
and the Triangle.

Plato also believed the Forms--or ideal patterns--stood
behind our firmly held inclinations towards Beauty, Equality,
and Justice. We may never totally achieve these "ideals,"
but they universally constantly stand within our minds. It's
like they are both the guidepost and the goal, simultaneously.

Interesting, too, was what I came to understand as Plato's system
of knowing Reality. It fell into a five-point progression, if you will.

• BECOMING: At the beginning of our human understanding, we
explained the world in terms of stories, poems, and myths. Hence,
even today, we have all these gods of ours.

• IMAGINATION: Then we began to learn from physical objects
and human conventions. In other words, we were beginning to
learn to "know how," discovering techniques for getting along in
this world. This was the beginning of our pragmatic leanings.

• BEING: Then we moved into another dimension, in that we
came to discover the "Forms" within our minds, hence we humans
evolved mathematics and logic--and were able to engage in
Hypothesis.

• UNDERSTANDING: From Hypothesis we naturally moved into
Theory. We had begun to reach into the "knowing why." We
explored systems, ideals, ideas as cause and realities. We could
look towards the sense of an "ordering principle," which for the
teachers of Plato was Reason--and it ruled over Nature as a
singled ordered system.

After going through all this really heady material, I still managed to
hang onto my own hypothesis about "Seeding." I suppose it is all
a matter of perspective, but I looked at Plato's Forms as the primary
seeds that enabled humanity eventually to come to know. And
as the seeds prescribed, like a tree or plant, our human minds were
unfolding. Hence we have these steps towards Knowing, as put
by Plato. Fledgling at first, growing, ultimately to maturity.

The problem in all this, of course, is that our struggle to know (or grow)
remains an uneven process at the individual's level. Some people
have the advantage of becoming more developed. Others remain
disadvantaged, poor in one way or another, and thus have not
attained to higher levels of Knowing. However, collectively, humanity
moves in this direction of Knowing more and more.

As for what purpose all this Coming to Know involves, well it would
seem a natural process that is leaning towards new adventures of
BEING. Perhaps, as we continue to unfold, those "Seeds" ultimately
will see the true light of day, and we will have fulfilled our duty as
human beings!