familiar, and the theory itself is not developed. Similarly, in the Republic, Plato relies on the concept of Forms as the basis of many of his arguments, but feels no need to argue at length for the validity of the theory itself. Commentators have been left with the task of explaining what Forms are and how physical objects participate in them, and there has been no shortage of disagreement.

Some scholars advance the view that Forms are paradigms, perfect examples on which the imperfect world is modeled; others place emphasis upon the