Plato (427-348 B.C)

Plato (427-348 B.C) When ever Plato talked about knowledge and opinion has compared it to the idea of a divided line and the World of Forms. In Soccio on page 148 Plato says,”The whole procedure involves nothing in the sensible world, but deals throughout with Forms and finishes with Forms.” The divided line would separate idea like: reality to appearance, metaphysics to epistemology. He also used the distinction of the world of “being” and the world of “becoming” The divided line shows how the factors of knowledge and opinion deal with “Forms” but in diverse ways.

Describing the dividing line is a simple task, it consists of two basic sections. The two sections are then broke up into two segments. Soccio says on page 146, “The four segments illustrate four ways of apprehending four components of reality; two each of being and becoming.”

The divided line can be further explained and are as following. Understanding and reasoning sit on the top and are the “World of Form” ort as Plato also says, the being. Those top two are the intelligible world. They also help to separate from knowledge and opinion; in this case the top two are knowledge. Secondly are the two ideas of perception and imagination. These two ideals are, as Plato puts it, in the visible world. They are also included in the idea of opinion.

Plato says that as you move down the “Divided Line” the degree of truth is on a constant decrease. For example, the highest form is “The Good.” Next, but still in the top tear of the divided line, comes the lower forms which are humans. Then when you break the barrier to the visible world/opinion you will find sensible objects. For example, one would find the Pope in this category. Finally, the last part (imagination) one could find a picture of the Pope.

In the column of epistemology, holds understanding, reasoning, perception, imagination. Understanding is the level of pure intelligence. It is the place what the highest of all truths is here. Next comes reasoning, here is ideas like mathematical thinking and deductive reasoning. Thirdly, perception is the level of belief, common ideas or politics, things of a lower degree of thinking. Lastly in Plato’s epistemological views is imagination, uncritical impressions are here.

To sum up, on page 146 in Soccio, “Well, take a line divided into two unequal parts, corresponding to the visible and intelligible worlds, and then divide the two parts again in the same ratio, to represent degrees of clarity and obscurity.”