Socratic Forms

Socrates defines forms as instances of ideas grouped under subjects. For example, the idea of “killing humans with weak immunity quickly” is the essence of the subject called Covid, which has different forms to implement that essence and idea: Alpha, Delta, Omicron. (Socrates’ example in Phaedo is the idea of ‘odd’ having forms as 3, 5, 7)

An opposite idea is “save humans with weak immunity”. This becomes the essence of the subject called medicine which has forms: molnupiravir, remdesivir, etc.

Socrates’ dialectics will then chase the cause of the idea: “Why does nature want to kill humans with weak immunity?”

But Aristotle interprets Forms as literally physical shapes (Metaphysics Book 7 Part 8). So the forms of the viruses as Alpha, Delta, Omicron do not become a starting point for chasing cause from effect. Instead, his philosophy treats the variants as substances which will be countered by other substances. It is incapable of finding the root causes because it does not entertain the forms that expose the essence of Covid.

In other words, Aristotle chases effect as substance, going against Plato who said to chase cause as Ideas.

Why did Aristotle do this?

This is because he put emphasis on physical sight (sight of the eye) and immediate evidence, instead of finding the pattern from all evidences and all knowledge (sight of reason) as Socrates suggested.

This what is happening now because Aristotle’s reasoning has made its way into science.