Plato's Transcendental Forms

In Humanities Course 110: LOVE AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

What are the transcendental forms of Plato? Plato believed that beyond the material world was a spiritual world or a world of pure reason of unchanging forms, of which the material world around us is but a reflection. Plato's theory of ideas and forms appears in many of his works such as the Republic and the Symposium, and is at the core of his thought. The nature of the forms according to Plato is best understood through his famous Allegory of the Cave, where the average person is stuck in a cave, with the light coming in the mouth, but all he can see are the shadows on the cave wall. The superior man is able to rise out of this situation, turn to the light and actually behold the figures which the light shines on.

This serves as a metaphor for the personal transformation and self development which we can consciously choose. Do we wish to live in a world of shadows, of fear and despair, or can we gather the courage to turn towards the light, into a world of truth and love? Plato was more than just a philosopher, he was a spiritual teacher whose profound teachings have underpinned much of western thought..

In Humanities Course 110: LOVE AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION we study:

Required Reading:
The Symposium, Plato
Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle
Gospel of St. John

The Symposium by Plato discusses the transcendental forms of love and beauty which we can try to approach and understand. Mystics through the ages have tried to help light us on the way in this task.

The Gospel of St. John has long held a place of pre-eminence within Christian mysticism (see our Leonardo Da Vinci course, which works with the Christian symbols in using The Last Supper) as a profound work which if worked with can lead to self transformation and personal development growth. The foundation of any true spiritual development lies in the development of good character.

Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics is a classic within the western tradition, including famous notions as the golden mean and ethics. Whereas Plato held a transcendental view of reality, the aim of man for Aristotle was more balanced between the real and the transcendental. The ethics and politics of Aristotle reflect this approach, whereby we need to find the "golden mean" to achieve balance in our lives.

Using these great, but different, works we will ask such questions as:

Can you see the levels of maturity in yourself - both past development and future potential?
Can you understand the difference between change, reform and transformation?
Have you experienced anything in yourself that you could equate or describe as your "Daimon"?
Have you experienced any process that you could call "Initiation"?
Have you ever experienced doing something out of pure love and freedom?

HUM 202: THE HIDDEN WISDOM OF GOETHE

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) had by any measure one of the most profound minds of all time. Goethe developed the basic principles of morphology, the branch of biological science which deals with the form and structure of animals and plants. It was Goethe who is given credit for naming this science from the Greek word "morphe," meaning "form," and "logos," meaning "active principles of." Goethe's poetic and philosophical mind urged him to seek the supreme synthesis, and reduce all diversities to a higher unity, seeing a depth of reality beyond merely physical forms.

In many ways, Goethe's holistic perspective of the archetype reflects a further development of the transcendental forms of Plato. Just as Plato saw the transcendental forms in a sphere beyond the material, Goethe experience these transcendental forms of Plato as accessible through a deeper relationship to the material world. This course helps you gain an understanding Goethian science as a method of personal introspection, helping us see how nature is in fact a book of knowledge, for which if our eyes are opened, we can begin to read, putting Platonic principles into practice...

The Hidden Wisdom of Goethe
HUM 202: $75