This paper explores Plato's theory of knowledge in the Philebus, specifically, the division of knowledge into four kinds in order to solve the metaphysical problem of the One and the Many.
Written in 2002; 1,350 words; 1 sources; MLA; $ 45.95
Paper Summary:
This paper explores Plato's Philebus as it deals with the metaphysical problem of the one and the many. By dividing knowledge into four kinds: that which has limit, the unlimited, mixed (limited and unlimited), and the cause. Plato is able explain how the forms (especially the good) can be completely one, while the objects in the physical world are many. The four kinds are explained in detail, with many examples. Some comparisons are drawn to Aristotle's theory of knowledge, as well. Brief comments are made on Plato's theory of knowledge and its relation to his belief that the life of philosophy, i.e., wisdom, is the true life.
From the Paper:
"In the Philebus, Plato tackles one of the greatest metaphysical problems in his view of the universe. The world of the forms, of which the good is the guiding and ordering principle, must be absolutely one. If the forms correspond to reality, they must partake of one unity indivisible, eternal, unique, unchanging, at rest, always the same, and existing essentially. However, man exists in time, so he must be subject to change. He exists as an individual in a world of infinite particulars. The plurality of the material world, in contrast to the unity of the forms, is associated with becoming, time, process, change, motion, differentiation, and relativity. For Plato, the conflict is how to assess the relationship between the universal and the particular. Unlike in Aristotle's view, Plato does not accept that an understanding of the universal can be grasped through a simple analysis of the particulars. Knowledge begins in sense perception, but does not end there. Plato's answer is a division of the universal "one" into kinds. The particulars are unlimited, so he must demonstrate that the forms are one (so that they can exist), yet not so one that they do not allow the particulars to be divided into kinds. The one must be a whole, but a whole whose wholeness is greater than the sum of its parts. To "divide" the one into the proper parts, one cannot move too quickly from the universal to the particulars."
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