A proof of God's self-evidence

[Protoman2050]

Originally Posted by Didymos Thomas

Honestly, I've never given much thought to Platonic epistemology - the Socratic method always comes to mind. That's about it. I've read many of his dialogues, though, so if you want to jump into something, chances are I can follow. Sounds interesting to me. Either way, Plato is pretty familiar to many of the members here, so even if I can't keep up, you can bet that someone else will.

As for metaphysics - depends on the context. If you take that nonsense literally, you've gone a little far. If you read it to appreciate the brilliance of certain individuals, you're on the right track. Granted, the majority opinion is against me on this claim.

His Theory of the Forms...how do their specifications instantiate the actual object?

[midas77]

Originally Posted by Protoman2050

His Theory of the Forms...how do their specifications instantiate the actual object?

The actual object in plato is instantiated by its imperfect material from which the actual object is made. Your use of specification in this statement is somewhat confusing in so far that in plato, the specification is the Form. It is a bit different from the way we use specification in common usage as specification as somewhat what differentiates. In Plato, as well as Aristotle, Form accounts for the similarity of objects as means of species. Form is instantiated in Matter (the substance or material from which things are made. Once the Form is "captured" in its material it is instantiated into that particular actual object.