Question

In the Phaedo, Plato's Socrates develops a novel way of understanding the beauty of things. He tells us:

• A. The beauty of things is caused by nothing other than a combination of the colour, the shape and the size of a thing
• B. The beauty of things is simply the effect of that thing on the eyes of the observer
• C. If things are beautiful then it is due to the presence (\emph{parousia}) of the beautiful in itself
• D. The beauty of things is simply an illusion; only the beautiful exists in itself by itself (\emph{auto kath' auto})

Hint:

Plato's doctrine of Forms: Particulars (like beautiful objects) are shadows or reflections of eternal Forms (like Beauty itself).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Plato's Theory of Forms in the Phaedo
Socrates argues that beauty in the material world is not self-sufficient. Instead, particular things are beautiful because they participate in, or reflect, the eternal Form of Beauty. This Form exists beyond sensory perception.

Step 2: Examine the options
(A) Suggests beauty is based only on colour, shape, or size → this is more materialistic, not Platonic.
(B) Suggests beauty is only subjective, dependent on the observer → again, not Plato's view.
(C) Correct. Plato holds that things are beautiful because of the presence (parousia) of Beauty itself.
(D) Suggests beauty is illusion → too skeptical, more aligned with later critiques, not Plato's own teaching.
\[ \boxed{\text{Correct Answer: (C)}} \]