Re-Collecting Reality with Plato and C.S. Lewis — the Parenting of Perception

We think we live among things, but we live among symbols.

What is curious about Platonic ideas is that Plato used the Greek word for idea (εἴδω, eidō), which means “to see,” to denote something one cannot see. For Plato, the idea of a thing is its invisible essence. A carrot can be seen; the idea of a carrot cannot. “Carrotness” is invisible.

And yet, Plato uses the word “εἴδω,” which means “to see,” to point t…