Abstract:

This essay aims to offer an interpretation of Plato’s theory of forms, which clarifies the nature of the forms and determine the limits of the theory. In light of the philosophical background that influenced Plato’s thinking, I argue that the theory of forms emerges as a reaction to sophism and skepticism, which were the prevailing philosophical positions by the time Plato wrote his dialogues. More specifically, I argue that Plato responds to the moral skeptics and the relativistic tendencies of the sophists by developing an alternative theory, namely the theory of forms, which is designed to justify the existence of universally valid moral values. Although Plato’s initial motivation was to justify the existence of universally valid ethical truths, his ambition to refute sophists’ relativist arguments led him to undertake a more ambitious project through which he could demonstrate the possibility of attaining knowledge of eternal truths in general. Having determined Plato’s main motivation for and the scope of the theory of forms, this paper will also illuminate the nature of the forms and demonstrate the intransitive relationship between the forms and the particular objects.

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