Abstract

Traditionally, scholars have held that in Plato's Phaedo, Forms are said to not be 'in' sensible particulars. The entities that are said to be in sensible particulars are immanent characters. Gail Fine tries to flip this narrative but does not succeed. Daniel T. Devereux attempts to show this by arguing that entities such as hotness in fire perish. I contend that Devereux's argument is not enough to establish that such entities are not Forms. They are not Forms because either they are said to withdraw, and withdrawal is a genuine, non-Cambridge change. Forms cannot undergo a non-Cambridge change, so these entities cannot be Forms. Or, they are said to perish, and perishing is a change that matters, since Forms are not made up of parts. Forms cannot undergo changes that matter, so these entities cannot be Forms.