Plato’s Theory of the Idea of Good

Plato’s Theory of the Idea of Good

As, by now, we know that Plato locates the essence of particular, sense perceivable, changeable and perishable objects not into objects themselves but outside into their permanent, eternal, unchangeable universal Ideas or Forms with capital I and F respectively. We also know that Plato accords priority to the Idea over object, as it is the progenitor, the model, the ultimate reality of the object and is beyond the time and space. The objects resemble with not only their Ideas but among themselves, as the children of the same father not only resemble the father but among themselves also. . The visible world, as it changeable and perishable, cannot be really real but not unreal either. It lies in the middle of the real, its Idea and unreal, its shadow. It is semi real. This philosophic assumption would be reproduced in an improvised and more sophisticated for by Hegel many centuries later and contested and reversed by Karl Marx. After theorizing the Idea of the objects, Plato moves to his main point, the basis of the Ideal state ruled by philosopher king, the Idea of Ideas, the superlative or the supreme Idea, the Idea of Good. Comprehension of the Idea of Good is the ultimate knowledge and the knowledge is the virtue and the ideal state must be ruled by the virtuous and hence deduction of the need of philosopher king automatically follows. The Idea of Good is the final and independent reality, “existing itself by itself”. The way he traces the source of existence of particular objects into their Ideas, the same way he locates the source of existence of the Ideas into the Idea of Good. Plato argues it to be the ultimate basis of knowledge.

Plato generally emphasizes on definition but leaves the final reality, the Idea of Good undefined that would be subsequently replaced in the medieval period by another ultimate, undefined reality, the God. Plato confesses that the meaning of the Good cannot be clearly defined but only known through reason. The knowledge, the wealth or the happiness are not Good themselves but just the conditions of Good. The Good is the final end of anything. It is the basis of knowledge and ethics and the source of all the virtues, like truth, beauty and the justice. The final objective of human life is attainment of the Idea of Good. Where Plato cannot define illustrates with similes; analogies and prevalent or constructed myths. To illustrate the Idea of Good Plato uses the slimily of the Sun. The Idea of Good in the intelligible world is similar to the Sun in the visible world. According to him the Ideas live not in the visible but intelligible world and hence form the subject of contemplation and the objects of the phenomenal world reside in the visible world and are the subjects of sense perception and not contemplation. In the visible world eyes sight things only when they are exposed to the light and the source of the light is the sun. Plato argues that the sun is neither light nor the objects of sight but their source and cause. Sun, as said above, occupies the same position in the visible world, in his scheme as the Idea of Good in the intelligible world. This slimily could be better explained by following diagram:

Visible World               Intelligible world

Sun ------------------------  Idea of the Good

Light ---------------------------- Truth

Objects of Sight (Things) -------------------------- Objects of Knowledge (The Ideas)

Sight ------------------------------  Knowledge.

To sum up Plato’s Theory of undefined Idea of Good, we can say that it is related to the world of Ideas in the same way as the world of objects in terms of being progenitor; finality; absoluteness and supremacy. Plato does not answer the question, what is the Idea of Good? It cannot be described but can only realized through dialectics or contemplated through the application of reason. Can everyone comprehend the Idea of Good? Plato’s answer is a clear no. Only those, who have ability and training in dialectics imparted in the highest stage of educational scheme can. Who have this ability and how is that determined? Those people whose innate domain of excellence is Reason, described in his theory of trilogy of the soul.  How is that determined? Through elimination tests conducted at various stages of education. Thus Plato not only gives the idea of state regulated education but also is the first political philosopher to conceptualize the meritocracy. As has been mentioned before, in medieval times, also known as dark ages, the Good was replaced by God and only the true devotees can know Him.

Theory of Soul

Like the Idea of Good, Plato avoids to define soul also in clear terms that can be substantiated by facts, but indulges into philosophical abstraction based on his subjective discretion. Soul and conscience do not exist outside but inside human person and dies with the death of person. He considers essence of humans does not get reflected in body but in soul that is eternal, unchanging and infinite. A detailed discussion on the theory of soul is beyond the scope of our present needs, Plato like Pythagoras believed in the eternity and transcendence of soul, that also one of the key messages of Gita. According to him the soul is divine and eternal that roams in the world of Ideas and not in the visible phenomenal world. Theorists of the eternity of soul and its transcendence from one to another body do not explain the source surplus souls required for the bodies of the increased population! To quote him from Phaedo, “The soul is infinitely like unchangeable; even the most stupid person would not deny that.”  He further adds, “What is the definition of that which is named soul? Can we imagine any other definition than …….. The motion that moves by itself.” He reaffirms in his last work, the Laws, “Motion of the soul is the first in origin and power.” And, “the soul is most ancient and divine of all things whose motion is an ever flowing source of real existence.”

Plato divides the soul into 3 faculties – reason, spirit and appetite, in the order of their importance. In fact this trilogy of the soul provides the philosophical foundation of his hierarchal order of the Ideal State, the abode of justice, his central concern in the Republic. The abode of the lowest faculty, the appetite is stomach and those of spirit and the reason are chest and the mind respectively. The appetite is identified in both the Republic as well as Phaedo with desires; greed; economic gains; physical comforts and sensuous pleasure. The spirit is identified with fearlessness, valor and warrior like qualities. The highest faculty of the soul is the reason – simple and indivisible, eternal and immortal. The reason is beyond the time and space, whereas spirit and appetite are within the time and space. The reason is, according to him, immortal and divine whereas spirit and appetite are mortal and mundane.

The Virtue of Soul

After defining the soul in terms of its constituent elements, delves into their respective virtues and thence derives the virtue of soul by integrating them together. Every particular object has its particular nature and realizing that nature is its virtue. The nature of teacher is to induce students into critical thinking and help them in molding themselves into fearless, responsible citizen and in his/her attempts to invent newer knowledge. If a teacher satisfactorily does that he is a virtuous teacher. Virtue of a student is to study and discourse to acquires knowledge and expand in the same way as the virtue of the eyes is clear vision  and of mind is clear thinking and reasoning. A soul is virtuous if its elements realize their nature, i.e. be virtuous. He first discusses the particular virtues of particular elements and combines them to construct a new virtue, superior to them and their coordinating force – the justice, Plato’s central concern in the Republic. The virtue of reason is wisdom, that of spirit and appetite are courage and temperance respectively. A soul is just or virtuous that has the virtuous faculties and the inferior elements are regulated and directed by the superior ones. In other words, the spirit and appetite must take directions from, and obey the dictates of, the reason.

·         Wisdom or Knowledge

Plato conceptualizes wisdom or knowledge in specific terms. The knowledge of mundane affairs or the knowledge of particular skill falls outside its ambit. Knowledge of varieties of soil fit for cultivation of particular crops or knowledge of medicine for particular disease is not wisdom. Plato calls them the opinions or technical knowledge. Even the knowledge of mathematics (arithmetic), geometry, astronomy or any other science disciplines, which Plato places in the realm of intelligible world, too is not knowledge, as they too use assumptions based on the objects of the visible world. He explains it through his, oft-quoted, line diagram. Wisdom does not come from the study of the objects of the visible world, as if the ideas come from some vacuum, in opposition to the fact that ideas are abstractions from the objects and have been historically emanating from them. According to him wisdom comes from ability to reason and analyze; discus and debate; deliberate and discourse. Plato’s pessimism does not allow him to accord these potentialities to anyone but to ‘gifted’ few ‘endowed’ with immanently innate qualities.   

09.09.2017