Plato's Theory Of Form Analysis

Plato's theory of Forms holds that every object has one true ideal non-materialistic Form, which represents its very essence. While an object’s Form is an abstract philosophical concept, its material realisations are genuine in existence. Notwithstanding the indefinite number of possible manifestations that can theoretically be produced, all the actual ones come under the umbrella of the given term. In a nutshell, the basic premise of this classical theory is that the language’s economic nature cannot accommodate to name separately the potentially infinite number of individual particulars that one object can possess. Even if the language could allow such proliferation, the introduction of additional names would clearly imply that different

. . according to the same idea’ (12). In other words, even though Everybody's Knife Bible counts as many as fifty English expressions that denote various kinds of this ancient tool (Paul 29-55) – which could be classified into five broad categories of weapons, sports equipment, kitchen utensils, tools and traditional or religious implements – all of them invariably fall under the name of ‘knife’ by virtue of their familiar common features. In simple terms, a knife will be called a knife providing that it contains either a blade or a cutting edge of a certain size, which can be attached to a handle, and functions as a means of

Selecting particular knives that the essay will concentrate on has been somewhat problematic considering the wide range of blades, both real and fictional ones, which must have been produced and used in Victorian England. In my attempt to narrow the choice, I have deliberately excluded straightforward examples – table knives, for instance – and focused on more complex ones, with a view to demonstrating that objects in reality do not necessarily fit into their generalised definitions. My final choice of knives for this discussion will hopefully provide a vivid portrayal of this object’s ambiguous nature. The first section of the tripartite structure will investigate the carving knife with which Tess stabs her rapist Alec in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D'Urbervilles, where the knife’s eventual practical use considerably differs from the ones usually associated with kitchen utensils. The second one, examining Bob Jakin's pocketknife from George Elliot’s The Mill on the Floss, is mainly concerned with the value that owners ascribe to their possessions. Finally, the third and, at the same time, the longest section, owing to the multidimensionality of the issue addressed, will examine the ‘Norfolk Knife’, a sporting