Idea and God—Plato's Theory of Forms and Its Theological Significance

Author: Zhao Guangming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: From Diotima's teaching in the Symposium that philosophy is a way of life, to the myth at the end of the Republic where souls choose their respective ways of life, to Socrates' advocacy and plea in the Phaedrus for a beautiful life, Plato established the theme that philosophy is a way of life, and one that is essentially beautiful. It is achieved through the soul's recollection and pursuit of the highest reality and wisdom, "beauty itself." By re-examining Plato's metaphysics, the author seeks the more inner essence beyond the surface opposition in words (representations).
What is philosophy? On one hand, we can find many definitions of philosophy in the literature; on the other hand, we cannot expect any true philosopher to answer this question directly with a clear proposition or statement. Strictly speaking, this is not a question that needs to be answered, but merely one that needs to be contemplated. It is a question that should and can provoke thought, and its significance lies in prompting us to begin thinking. In this way, philosophy is positioned at the starting point of thought. Philosophy should be the starting point of thought, and a unique one at that, because it has no end. However, this does not mean that philosophy is unbounded; as a starting point with no end, philosophical thought always remains within its unique perspective and mode of thinking, persistently self-limiting. This self-limitation means that philosophy always remains philosophy, and metaphysics, rather than any other cultural type or form of thought. The key to this distinction lies in the fact that all specific disciplines take certain aspects, domains, or parts of the world and universe as their objects of study, whereas metaphysics alone takes the "whole" of the world and universe as its research object and goal. In other words, what philosophy—or metaphysics—faces and concerns is what remains and manifests after the thorough phenomenological "suspension" of all specific disciplines, sciences, their objects of study, research domains, and content. And it is nothing more than this phenomenological "remainder." This is the fundamental characteristic of philosophy; its finitude and existence are precisely defined by this, and metaphysics begins here, embarking on an endless journey of thought. This is a path of the soul's ascent, and at the same time, a path of the self of life. What is achieved through the metaphysical ascent of the soul is the restoration of the soul's natural and inherent life, and the unity of this ascent and restoration lends sanctity to this life. In this sense, we can, like Socrates, understand philosophy as a way of life. Philosophy is a life that begins with thought, a life, an existence; this soul's contemplation should not be arduous or burdensome, because life is a joy, existence is a pleasure, and it is beauty.