Plato had a certain set of ideas that he developed and called Metaphysic. Plato’s idea was rejected by Aristotle, but over time it became the basis for a number of important fields of knowledge. The greatest impact was in Western thought and is considered to be the first branch in philosophy. Plato Metaphysics explained what made up everything and with it, questioned whether or not God existed. This led to many religions becoming opposed to his thinking which eventually led to his death in 399 BC
Plato Metaphysics:
The Platonic Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy which deals with explaining the essence, origin and meaning of all existence. This branch of philosophy was founded by Plato and Pythagoras. It studies the universals i.e., principles, standards and ideals that apply to all objects in general. This branch seeks to understand how these universals are related to each other, what their natures are and how they exist in reality as opposed to just in our minds or ideas about them (i.e., not universal).
What is Platonism?
The word Platonism is derived from the name of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. According to this philosophy, everything that exists has a nature and is made up of their own ideal forms, principles and standards which can be identified by the mind. These form a system that is universal in nature and applies to all objects, principles and ideals. Plato believed that these form the basis for all existence and are therefore an accurate representation of reality. All objects, principles and ideals have a single essence in common which is what we call universals in other branches of philosophy (materialism). Both Platonism and materialism hold to the idea of forms or essences from Plato although they hold different views on how these objects relate to each other (i.e., the boundaries between types of objects).
What is a Form?
A form is a principle that contains an inherent unique content that belongs to the nature of a particular object (i.e., universal). Forms like Plato Metaphysics, materialism and idealism are all based on the idea that everything in existence has its own particular form which can be identified by reason alone. However, unlike Platonism and materialism which consider forms as separate from each other, idealists believe that everything is just one form. The essence of things relates to their forms and how they relate to these elements of reality. This means that we can be certain about what something truly is if it is connected to a form .
Significance of Plato Metaphysics:
Plato Metaphysics is important because it was the basis for many different philosophies and fields of knowledge including ontology, theology, cosmology and knowledge about essential nature (i.e., metaphysics). Plato emerged as an individual who argued that nothing more could be said about objects than their form. Plato’s ideas from the Platonic Metaphysics were later developed by many individuals in the ancient world but Socrates, his teacher, was the greatest influence on him. This can be seen in his concept of forms or essences in existence (i.e., universal standards) as well as reason which he claimed was a divine guide to attaining understanding and wisdom.
Need for Plato Metaphysics:
Plato Metaphysics is relevant in fields like theology, cosmology and ontology because it serves as a foundation for many other theories. After all, we can’t understand the nature of existence without having some understanding of what exists in reality and how it relates to ourselves. These form the basis for our understanding of God (i.e., why we exist), our place in the world (i.e., why we are here with our bodies) or where the universe came from (i.e., what is the nature of matter).
Conclusion:
The Platonic Metaphysics is a form of metaphysics that describes things in terms of forms or essences. These form the basis for all existence which are called universals. Forms are what makes an object a particular type of object (i.e., universal standards) and are distinct from any other object. Forms don’t come from anything outside themselves, they simply exist in reality as something more than just the objects themselves (i.e., objects make up their own unique essence). There is no need for materialism to have any bearing on this branch of philosophy since it explains existence in terms of universals and these are described by reason alone (unlike irrational materialism).