Plato's Forms and Sin

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Plato conveys a direct influence on the writings of Augustine through original sin. It looks at how both writers do not find any glorious or noble belief in the body but rely on the soul as the unchanging and perfect part of human nature. It also discusses how Augustine's original sin condemns from birth the idea of physical decay and degradation, which can be easily translated from Plato's notion of forms.

From the Paper:

"In this study the philosophical premise of Plato's forms will be an important influence upon the concept of original sin in the writings of Saint Augustine. In the City of God, Augustine reflects how physicality is the natural basis for mankind's propensity for sin. Plato also reflects the same lack of importance physical form presents in the reality of mankind's existence on Earth. In essence, Plato had greatly influenced Augustine in realizing the limitations and impurities of physical forms in the human condition. The metaphysical premise of Plato's Forms (meaning `idea' in Greek) is essential to realizing how knowledge and beliefs are not actual realities, but conjurations of the mind. In the Theory of Forms Plato presents a three-fold perception of ideas within a physical conceptualization of the human body. "

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