Platonism

Platonism
Platonism Pla"to*nism, n. [Cf. F. Platonisme.] 1. The doctrines or philosophy by Plato or of his followers. [1913 Webster]

Note: Plato believed God to be an infinitely wise, just, and powerful Spirit; and also that he formed the visible universe out of pre["e]xistent amorphous matter, according to perfect patterns of ideas eternally existent in his own mind. Philosophy he considered as being a knowledge of the true nature of things, as discoverable in those eternal ideas after which all things were fashioned. In other words, it is the knowledge of what is eternal, exists necessarily, and is unchangeable; not of the temporary, the dependent, and changeable; and of course it is not obtained through the senses; neither is it the product of the understanding, which concerns itself only with the variable and transitory; nor is it the result of experience and observation; but it is the product of our reason, which, as partaking of the divine nature, has innate ideas resembling the eternal ideas of God. By contemplating these innate ideas, reasoning about them, and comparing them with their copies in the visible universe, reason can attain that true knowledge of things which is called philosophy. Plato's professed followers, the Academics, and the New Platonists, differed considerably from him, yet are called Platonists. --Murdock. [1913 Webster]

2. An elevated rational and ethical conception of the laws and forces of the universe; sometimes, imaginative or fantastic philosophical notions. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • platonism — PLATONÍSM s.n. Concepţie filozofică idealist obiectivă a lui Platon şi a adepţilor săi, după care lumea ideilor ar fi singura realitate adevărată, iar lumea materială o copie sensibilă şi schimbătoare a celei dintâi. – Din fr. platonisme. Trimis… …   Dicționar Român

  • Platonism — [plāt′ n iz΄əm] n. [ModL platonismus] 1. the philosophy of Plato or his school; esp., the doctrine holding that objects of perception are real insofar as they imitate or participate in an independent realm of immutable essences, ideas, or logical …   English World dictionary

  • Platonism — Platonist, n., adj. /playt n iz euhm/, n. 1. the philosophy or doctrines of Plato or his followers. 2. a Platonic doctrine or saying. 3. the belief that physical objects are impermanent representations of unchanging Ideas, and that the Ideas… …   Universalium

  • Platonism — Part of a series on …   Wikipedia

  • Platonism — After the death of Plato (347 BCE), his philosophical teachings were continued into the Hellenistic era by his followers and were an influence on Judaism in the Book of Wisdom. Mankind is given immortality because human beings are made in the… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Platonism — the school of philosophy founded by Plato. Often used to refer to Platonic idealism, the belief that the entities of the phenomenal world are imperfect reflections of an ideal truth. In metaphysics sometimes used to mean the claim that universals …   Mini philosophy glossary

  • Platonism in the Renaissance — Platonism underwent a revival in the Renaissance, as part of a general revival of interest in Classical antiquity. Interest in Platonism was especially strong in Florence under the Medici. During the sessions at Florence of the Council of Ferrara …   Wikipedia

  • Platonism — noun Date: circa 1570 1. a. the philosophy of Plato stressing especially that actual things are copies of transcendent ideas and that these ideas are the objects of true knowledge apprehended by reminiscence b. Neoplatonism 2. platonic love •… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Platonism — noun The philosophy of Plato …   Wiktionary

  • Platonism — The view taken especially from the middle dialogues of Plato that abstract objects, such as those of mathematics, or concepts such as the concept of number or justice, are real, independent, timeless, and objective entities. Numbers stand to… …   Philosophy dictionary

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