Random philosophical musings

Hi people, I decided to engage in some philosophical musings to distract me from my sickly flu-plagued body. I know this sounds emo but I assure you the next passage is worth reading :)

Personally, as to whether we can contribute to the world of forms, I think the main questions we need to answer is

(i) Does the world of forms exist independently of Man and Man merely taps into it?

Or

(ii) Is the world of forms, as Jiasheng puts it, "a metaphor for the collection of ideas formed by human reason"

To address the first part, perhaps the essence of the tree(which is what makes a tree a tree) does exist and when Man sees a tree, he sees a representation of the essence of the tree.

When Man "creates" something new like the ipad, he is in fact discovering something that already exists in the world of forms, although what he sees in the material world is but the shadow of THE ipad in the world of forms.

Alternatively, perhaps new creations like the ipad could just be a combination of the shadows of its basic entities that make up its structure. Isn't an ipad merely made up of electronic circuits, which probably comprise basic elements like silicon(sorry for the scientific explanation, although i think I'm wrong)Perhaps this could be an answer to questions like whether new creations/random contraptions only I create really do exist in the world of forms.

As for the second part, I find the argument a bit problematic in that what Man creates could be subjective, but the realm of forms is supposed to be pure and objective.

And here I wish to share a question that I’ve been thinking for the past weekend(don’t ask me why I think about such things.) I find this a problem in Plato’s reasoning and perhaps in general rationalism as well.

Why is the tree that we think of in our minds closer to the ideal tree than the tree we see? It is supposedly because our senses are subjective, but how about our reasoning? How do we justify that human reasoning is superior to human senses, when both are parts of the same body?

Although our mind and senses are the parts of the same body, it may not necessarily mean both are subjective, but it still makes me wonder how we can justify human reasoning to be more superior. I think if we can answer this question, we can resolve the issue of whether Man is capable of contributing to the realm of forms. Because if human reasoning is more superior, then what he conjures in his mind is closer to the truth than what he sees with his own eyes. Then the probability of Man being able to contribute to this realm of forms would be higher. If not, then perhaps what Man sees is a representation of the ideal, modified because of our subjective point of view. But there could also be a middle ground.

Hope my musings have provided some new insights for you to ponder on…

Love,
Pei Ling :)