The History of Philosophy|S01E50-The Psychological Solution-9

The Psychological Solution-9

First then, our young Elite must learn to think clearly. 

For that purpose they shall study the doctrine of Ideas. 

But this famous doctrine of Ideas, embellished and obscured by the fancy and poetry of Plato, is a discouraging maze to the modern student, and must have offered another severe test to the survivors of many siftings. 

embellish，装饰

The Idea of a thing might be the "general idea" of the class to which it belongs (the Idea of John, or Dick, or Harry, is Man); 

or it might be the law or laws according to which the thing operates (the Idea of John would be the reduction of all his behavior to "natural laws"); 

or it might be the perfect purpose and ideal towards which the thing and its class may develop (the Idea of John is the John of Utopia). 

Very probably the Idea is all of these—idea, law and ideal. 

Behind the surface phenomena and particulars which greet our senses, are generalizations, regularities, and directions of development, unperceived by sensation but conceived by reason and thought. 

These ideas, laws and ideals are more permanent—and therefore more "real"—than the sense-perceived particular things through which we conceive and deduce them.

[ 00’30” ] doctrine (法则) 

[ 00’33” ] Ideas (理念) 

[ 00’55” ] embellish (装饰) 

[ 01’40” ] maze (迷宫；迷思) 

[ 02’13” ] sifting (筛选) 

[ 06’04” ] particular (特例) 

[ 06’36” ] generalization (概括) 

[ 06’44” ] regularity (习俗；惯性) 

[ 07’12” ] unperceived (不能触摸；不能感知的) 

[ 07’20” ] conceive (理解)