What Socrates Means By The Ideas Or Forms Of Things Essay

Explain what Socrates means by the Ideas or Forms of things. What kinds of Ideas or forms exist? The ideas or forms of things according to Socrates, pertains to the concept on how or why an object was created. Socrates defined these forms or ideas according to its creator and its essence. The first is the object by natural created by the maker of everything who is God. The next form is the object created to make use of it and the last is the object as imitation created by an artist. In the discussion of Socrates with his companion Glaucon, he made the idea of beds and tables as a concrete example. Socrates points out that the bed is a bed by nature created by God and it has two other forms. The second is the bed created by the carpenter and the third form is the bed as an imitation created by an artist.

Why, according to the argument put forward by Socrates, …show more content…
This means that art also refers to the world of appearance because it does not provide an image of truth but rather an image of a certain point of view. The images or ideas presented in art should never be seen as the ideal or real since this is only a representation of an object or just a product of imagination.

How does Socrates prove that artists lack concern for truth? Socrates proved that artists lack concern for truth by taking an image of a bed as an example. He points out that the artists can look at it in various ways and the image he could create is just a part of it. The image that will represent the object is way off the truth since this is not what exactly the object is. It is a mere representation of an object according to its appearance and according to the artists’ point of view.

What are the two principles of soul discussed by Socrates? What do artists and poets have in