Introduction

Abstract

Platonic scholarship has in the last two decades been dominated by a discussion of the doctrine of Forms.¹ There is of course a reason for this. Even if the role of Forms in Plato’s philosophy may be exaggerated, they are, as will appear, an indispensable ingredient in Platonic philosophy. And this is only to be expected. For Forms are meant as solving inter alia the fundamental logical and metaphysical problem of universals: What are our criteria for using general terms? and Are general terms a special sort of proper name standing for ontological realities? But like other doctrines to be found in Plato the doctrine of Forms has been subject to misinterpretation and, sometimes on inadequate grounds, been rejected as either plainly inconsistent or unintelligible.²