Guest Author - Andrea Gardiner, Ph.D.
How many worlds are there? I am not sure I could answer that question with a number but Plato was sure to address the topic in his Theory of Forms. In this masterful proposition, Plato postulates there is more to the world than meets the five senses. He theorizes that the world we conceive of through sight, touch, sound, scent and taste are really shadows forms of the real thing. The real thing, so to speak, exists in another world of an ideal state that he believes is impossible for us to know. In his work, the Allegory of the Cave, Plato dives into these shadows and discusses that they are really expression of a deeper archetype that runs through all things possessing the same properties. According to Plato, physical reality the way we perceive of it is not real.
Well, you really can’t argue too much with the man. After all quantum physics have well established that the nature of physical reality isn’t physical at all. When you observe the behavior of atoms and subatomic particles you can see that there is no substance to them. What is present is not an object, but rather a concentrated bit of energy or a condense pocket of thought. There is no substantiality to matter whatsoever. This knowledge, which is largely understood within the community of physical science, is one that was contemplated even before Plato’s Theory of Form. Nonetheless, his marvelous work has transported this metaphysical concept into the minds of many.
The most obvious impression that will be taken away from this theory is the idea that physical reality is not real; but what are the underwritten inferences of such a notion? As stated earlier, Plato was without a doubt on to something in his intellectual observation of the insubstantial nature of matter, but was he accurate in his conclusion that physical reality is not real? This question can only be answered once you explore your definition of the word real. The implication of Plato’s conclusion would define real as being that which is physical. If your understanding of reality consists of that which is solid, rock-hard, or concrete, then your conclusion can only be that “reality” is not real. However, what if you were to define real as something else? What if your definition of reality had its base simply in existence?
An alternate definition of the word real leads you to a different conclusion. When you base your concept of what is real within the scope of existence rather than physical nature, you infinitely expand your parameters of reality. In this manner, you assert to yourself the validity in just being. The only question you will have to ask yourself when questioning reality is: does it exist or not? Take for instance the chair you are sitting on as you read this article. It is definitely not physical but its reality is based in its existence. You can perceive of its form and that is enough to make its reality as valid as yours. Plato was right; your reality is not based in the five-sensory world but this doesn’t make you or the world around you a lie. You are real because you exist. It might not be solid but it is real.
