Bust of Plato

Plato, born around 428 bc, investigated a wide range of topics. Chief among his ideas was the theory of forms, which proposed that objects in the physical world merely resemble or participate in the perfect forms in the ideal world, and that only these perfect forms can be the objects of true knowledge. Thus, he formulated one of the earliest aesthetic theories.

SEF/Art Resource, NY

Appears in these articles

Philosophy, Western; Aesthetics; Plato; Transcendentalism; Philosophy, Greek

*	Exclusively for MSN Encarta Premium Subscribers Join Now