Plato's views on Philosophy

You're on the right track as regards a posteriori knowledge. Plato is sometimes classed as an idealist. This does not mean a devotion to ethical ideals. It means that world-view which maintains that reality is of the nature of mind, or of thought, or of ideas. Put another way, it means that all we can know about the world first-hand is what we see and experience first-hand. But -- there's always a BUT, isn't there -- that doesn't mean that what we experience is the only reality there is.

This is where Plato's brand of idealism becomes a little bit complicated. He introduced the concept of noumena as opposed to phainomena. Don't panic, felix, don't panic. I'll explain that. First noumena= real; phainomena= actual. Now, you may well ask, "What the hell is the difference between 'real' and 'actual'?" I'm about to tell you.For Plato, the world which you and I perceive through our five senses is not the "real" world." It is "actual," but not "real." This phenomenal world is only an "imitation" )imitatio) of thereal world which exists only as noumena, i.e. as thought or idea. Thus all the tables in this, the phenomenal world, the actual world, are really imperfect "imitations" of the abstract idea of "tableness."

Plato maintains that our reason is far more trustworthy than our senses. Through careful reasoning we can arrive at the truth. Our senses, however, often tend to deceive us. In other words, true "being" is what the mind thinks rather than what our senses perceive.

Does that help you at all? Or did I, like the Google sites, just confuse you more? Feel free to comment.

Oh, yes. Cognition or cognitive. Cognition is just the mental faculty of knowing. Cognitive is the adjective derived from that noun.

No, you've actually helped me a lot! Thankyou! I was very confused and on the verge of smashing my (dads) computer up. I've been searching google for 4 hours to try and finish my homework but you've really made things clear! Thankyou!

felix-

Listen mate-Plato had never heard of electricity so you should be able to imagine from your own activities that anything he is reported as having said,which might or might not be true,isn't worth a blow on a ragman's trumpet.

Yeah, I wish I could put that! That would make the essay shorter! Although my teacher would probably throw me out the window (or defenestrate if you want to be fancy!) which would hurt...

No he wouldn't felix.

If he had any brains,and you can tell him I said so,he would go and get a proper job driving a truck or something.And if he has no brains-well Plato is useful for putting a nice gloss on it.

He he! Well.... After 5 solid hours of working on various homework assignments I am tired! So I bid you all goodnight, and hope the bed bugs don't bite! (Or in my case, DADDY LONG LEGS- they seem to be everywhere!) I shall try and remember the truck driver thing, and that Plato is good for a putting a nice gloss on. Or you could use it as a nifty paperweight. I don't know! If I get stuck googling tomorrow (very possible) I'll come here again, and adopt every single one of you as my at home tutors. He he...

Ashtrays make pretty good paperweights.Brass or glass or,if you're really posh,onyx.Even lapis lazuli.They are all superior to burnt toast.