Abstract

Over the last centuries, the being of intuitive knowledge and its meaning have been conflicted by Plato’s interpreters. Some interpreters have not accepted such knowledge at all, but the real conflict is between those who accept that knowledge. The big challenging question, for them, is that if they are rational or mystic. In this paper, we tried to show that knowledge in Plato’s viewpoint is not only intellectual, but beyond, it also implies an intellectual vision. Because, for Plato, on the one hand, intellectual perception of things means perception of common characters of them which they are represented in the form of judgments and propositions. On the other hand, if the explanation of everything is through the Reason and Ideas, and the explanation of the Ideas themselves is through the agent and final cause of the Good, hence there will not be such an explanation about the Good itself, because it is a Good and Beautiful in itself. Then its knowledge is beyond intellectual perception in the form of conceptual and general judgments. Instead, it will be direct knowledge, and a vision that cannot be expressed in the form of proposition. This intuition although is a sudden and short knowledge; but according to Plato, it is stable and definite, and is based on a dialectical process. We cannot say and write anything about its object; but we can only experience it with the help of leader and by a direct illumination. It belongs to philosopher, not anybody; because it is only philosopher who can turn his soul thoroughly to be obedient to Intellect- that is the same part of soul which is kinsman of Ideas- and, in conclusion, as deserving of such a knowledge.