Thesis: Plato’s World of Forms is part of his philosophy that helps one to understand the way that things exist in this material world; through this World of Forms, one is compelled to realize that objects are not always the way they appear to be in the material world, but in the World of Forms they are in their essential forms.

Introduction: To most people, objects do seem to exist in their very essence. However, it must be asserted that not all that the human eye sees is necessarily real. This may be said because of the fact that there could be other possible explanations or considerations given to the world as it is. One particular consideration that needs to be given to the explanation of self-existence and existence of matter around us is Plato’s views of the ‘World of Forms’. This view provides one with a diverse understanding of how objects and human beings exist.

Analysis: Everything that exists in the world of forms is real. Things in the world of forms are not as they are in the material world. Plato holds that all that exists in the world of forms is perfect. He says it is perfect because there is no need to change. No change is associated with the perfect world because there is no need to change. Nothing is produced, and nothing is destroyed because there is no need to. This is in complete contrast to the way that things exist in the material world. In the material world objects and even people undergo constant change with time, and nothing appears to stay the same.

Aside from objects also deteriorating with time, human beings too deteriorate or age with time. This specifically refers to the body of an individual, and this is because it is also composed of matter; just like the matter around it also goes through phases and then deteriorates.

The body of an individual is actually considered to be a shell that harbors the immortal soul, and after one’s life is over in this material world, the body dies, while the immortal soul passes on into a new life. The survival of the soul is believed to be part of the world of forms. The concept of reincarnation develops from here because the soul is believed to remain unchanged and come back in another body. This process is explained by the cycle of opposites which is a progression through which things change through their own opposites.

This is a theory in which birth and death are both processes of progression. The cycle of opposites describes change being brought about through the opposite of a quality itself. A core example of this is the manner in which hot from cold and cold comes from hot; hot material is actually a cold material that has become hot, and a cold body is actually a hot body that has become cold. Synonymous to this is Plato’s argument that death comes from life and life from death (Phaedo2, 71c-d). Life on its own does not just come from anywhere; it has to have an origin. If one dies and leaves behind the mortal body, the immortal soul is passed on to the next cyclic phase in which it is born into another body.

The soul is believed to remain unchanged because it is from the world of forms which define its essence, reality and existence. When it comes into the material world too, it remains in one piece only being tarnished through not conquering truth. Hence, it is important to keep the soul good and pure so that the next life will be better.

The manner in which the reality of the world of forms is emphasized on by Plato is demonstrated in the way that he speaks of caring for one’s life in the material world. He writes, “How inconsistent of them to have been always enemies of the body, and wanting to have the soul alone, and when this is granted to them, to be trembling and repining” (Phaedo 2, 67e). Through this, Plato means that there is profound reason to look after one’s soul more than the body. This is because the body is a weakness for an individual, and the desires are the route causes of one’s downfall.
The world of forms is a view that Plato explained that helps one take another view of the way that world is and how objects exists in it. He leads one to self assess the material world in which s/he lives. The perceived reality of the material world appears to be insignificant before the world of forms because of the way that the essence of material objects may be misleading, changing their states through time. In contrast to this is the perpetual state of everything in the world of forms.