The Dialogues of Plato deal ultimately with that subject to which Plato devoted his life: Philosophy. The etymology of the word, then, gives us a clue as to Plato's concern. Thus philia, friendship or love, finds its object in sophia, wisdom, and its companion sophorosyne, or the spirit embodied by the Delphic imperatives "Know Thyself" and "To Thyself be True. " In service of this love of and for wisdom Plato wrote the Dialogues. To this end, Plato expounds the definition of a philosopher, what it means to be a true philosopher, and the conditions for a philosophic life. Before he can do this, however, he is compelled to qualify the common term in the list above. What is the "wisdom" to which the philosopher is attracted? Plato considered wisdom to be that knowledge which is concerned with the real. This answer, however, brings to light questions of its own, namely, what is real? This metaphysical question suggests that Plato's pursuit of wisdom must first address what, in Plato's conception, is real. In defining what is "real" in the service of his love of wisdom, Plato defines for himself and his philosophy a horizon

within which to consider the issue of knowledge and pursuit of reality.

In establishing the Forms as the highest reality he was establishing the horizon of his Philisophic Goal

Primacy of the Forms in the fourfold division and the cave-maetaphor

Thus forms are the entitites that have the highest degree of reality for Plato, and constitute his goal.

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Approximate Word count = 5110
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page double spaced)