---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Plato in some sense anticipated the…"
description: "\"“Plato in some sense anticipated the Catholic realism, as attacked by the heretical nominalism, by insisting on the equally fundamental fact that ideas..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50f/g-k-chesterton-224_nominalism_plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-cath_295255.jpg"
---

#  Plato in some sense anticipated the Catholic realism, as…

![“Plato in some sense anticipated the Catholic realism, as attacked by the heretical nominalism, by insisting on the equally fundamental fact that ideas are realities; that ideas exist just as men exist. Plato however seemed sometimes almost to fancy that ideas exist as men do not exist; or that the…” quote by G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50f/g-k-chesterton-224_nominalism_plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-cath_295255.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50f/g-k-chesterton-224_nominalism_plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-cath_295255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50f/g-k-chesterton-224_nominalism_plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-cath_295255.jpg)

> ““Plato in some sense anticipated the Catholic realism, as attacked by the heretical nominalism, by insisting on the equally fundamental fact that ideas are realities; that ideas exist just as men exist. Plato however seemed sometimes almost to fancy that ideas exist as men do not exist; or that the men need hardly be considered where they conflict with the ideas.””

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Plato treats ideas as real, sometimes more real than people, echoing Catholic realism against nominalism.

**In simple terms:** Ideas are real, sometimes more than people.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the power of abstract truths.

Themes

philosophy reality ideas

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

philosophical critical

When to use this quote

- theoretical discourse
- education
- spiritual reflection

Key Concepts

Idealism ontological debate

Questions to Reflect On

- How do abstract ideas shape daily life?
- Can ideas exist independently of people?

A Different Perspective

Ideas may conflict with lived experience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Nominalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nominalism/)

## Related quotes

> [“As indicated by our example, methodological nominalism is nowadays fairly generally accepted in the natural sciences. The problems of the social sciences, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/as-indicated-by-our-example-methodological-nominalism-is-nowadays/)

[Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/)

> [“Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or Plato. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sparing-with-them-they-are/)

[Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/)

> [“Every man in the world is either a Realist or a Nominalist. Give yourself a test: if someone called you a gigger or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/every-man-in-the-world-is-either-a-realist-or-a-nominalist-give/)

[Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/)

> [“The art of meditation is a way of getting into touch with reality, and the reason for it is that most civilized people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/the-art-of-meditation-is-a-way-of-getting-into-touch-with-reality-and/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [The faith engaged with Platonism in the ancient world, with Aristotle in the medieval world, with nominalism in the Reformation era, and with rationalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-webber/the-faith-engaged-with-platonism-in-the-ancient-world-with-aristotle/)

[Robert E. Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-webber/)

> [ “\[According to Peirce\] ‘The opinion which is fated to be ultimately agreed to by all who investigate, is what we mean by the truth,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/according-to-peirce-the-opinion-which-is-fated-to-be-ultimately/)

[Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/)

> [“Ockham snorted. "I am no nominalist. The problem with teaching the Modern Way is that lesser scholars, excited by the novelty, seldom bother to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-flynn/ockham-snorted-i-am-no-nominalist-the-problem-with-teaching-the/)

[Michael Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-flynn/)

> [The difference between resemblance nominalism and class nominalism is that the former, but not the latter, brings in resemblance to account for the truthmakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/the-difference-between-resemblance-nominalism-and-class-nominalism-is/)

[Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/)

> [“Without the withering criticism by nominalism, medieval Christian philosophy and theology would not have relinquished their claim to the role of knowledge in discovering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/without-the-withering-criticism-by-nominalism-medieval-christian/)

[Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/)

> [The three main medieval points of view regarding universals are designated by historians as realism, conceptualism, and nominalism. Essentially these same three doctrines reappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-three-main-medieval-points-of-view-regarding-universals-are/)

[Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/)

## More by G.K. Chesterton

> [“I never use paradox. The statements I make are wearisome and obvious common sense. I have even been driven to the tedium of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-never-use-paradox-the-statements-i-make-are-wearisome-and-obvious/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Nothing, again, could be more prosaic and impenetrable than the domestic energies of Miss Diana Duke. But Innocent had somehow blundered on the discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/nothing-again-could-be-more-prosaic-and-impenetrable-than-the/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“The mass of men have been forced to be gay about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/ask-yourself-how-many-people-you-have-met-who-grumbled-at-a-thing-as/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-human-race-to-which-so-many-of-my-readers-belong-has-been-playing/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Internationalism is in any case hostile to democracy….The only purely popular government is local, and founded on local knowledge. The citizens can rule the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/internationalism-is-in-any-case-hostile-to-democracy-the-only-purely/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“There was a short railway official travelling up to the terminus, three fairly short market-gardeners picked up two stations afterwards, one very short widow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-was-a-short-railway-official-travelling-up-to-the-terminus/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/humility-is-the-mother-of-giants-one-sees-great-things-from-the/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-badly/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first. The authority of priests to absolve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-by-a-blind-instinct-knew-that-if-once-things-were-wildly/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“But in order that life should be a story or romance to us, it is necessary that a great part of it, at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-in-order-that-life-should-be-a-story-or-romance-to-us-it-is/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Buddhism seeks after God with the largest conception it can find, the all-producing and all-absorbing One; Christianity seeks after God with the most elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/buddhism-seeks-after-god-with-the-largest-conception-it-can-find-the/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Man is more himself, more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing and grief superficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-thing/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

[Explore all 853 G.K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

## More Nominalism quotes

> [“As indicated by our example, methodological nominalism is nowadays fairly generally accepted in the natural sciences. The problems of the social sciences, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/as-indicated-by-our-example-methodological-nominalism-is-nowadays/)

[Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/)

> [“Without the withering criticism by nominalism, medieval Christian philosophy and theology would not have relinquished their claim to the role of knowledge in discovering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/without-the-withering-criticism-by-nominalism-medieval-christian/)

[Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/)

> [The difference between resemblance nominalism and class nominalism is that the former, but not the latter, brings in resemblance to account for the truthmakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/the-difference-between-resemblance-nominalism-and-class-nominalism-is/)

[Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/)

> [“Ockham snorted. "I am no nominalist. The problem with teaching the Modern Way is that lesser scholars, excited by the novelty, seldom bother to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-flynn/ockham-snorted-i-am-no-nominalist-the-problem-with-teaching-the/)

[Michael Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-flynn/)

> [ “\[According to Peirce\] ‘The opinion which is fated to be ultimately agreed to by all who investigate, is what we mean by the truth,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/according-to-peirce-the-opinion-which-is-fated-to-be-ultimately/)

[Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/)

> [The faith engaged with Platonism in the ancient world, with Aristotle in the medieval world, with nominalism in the Reformation era, and with rationalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-webber/the-faith-engaged-with-platonism-in-the-ancient-world-with-aristotle/)

[Robert E. Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-webber/)

> [“The art of meditation is a way of getting into touch with reality, and the reason for it is that most civilized people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/the-art-of-meditation-is-a-way-of-getting-into-touch-with-reality-and/)

[Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/)

> [“Every man in the world is either a Realist or a Nominalist. Give yourself a test: if someone called you a gigger or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/every-man-in-the-world-is-either-a-realist-or-a-nominalist-give/)

[Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/)

> [“Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or Plato. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sparing-with-them-they-are/)

[Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/)

> [The three main medieval points of view regarding universals are designated by historians as realism, conceptualism, and nominalism. Essentially these same three doctrines reappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-three-main-medieval-points-of-view-regarding-universals-are/)

[Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/)

[Browse all 11 Nominalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nominalism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Plato in some sense anticipated the Catholic realism, as attacked by the heretical nominalism, by insisting on the equally fundamental fact that ideas are realities; that ideas exist just as men exist. Plato however seemed sometimes almost to fancy that ideas exist as men do not exist; or that the men need hardly be considered where they conflict with the ideas.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "G.K. Chesterton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-catholic-realism-as-attacked-by/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Nominalism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-catholic-realism-as-attacked-by/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50f/g-k-chesterton-224_nominalism_plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-cath_295255.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50f/g-k-chesterton-224_nominalism_plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-cath_295255.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50f/g-k-chesterton-224_nominalism_plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-cath_295255.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Plato in some sense anticipated the Catholic realism, as attacked by the heretical nominalism, by insisting…” — G.K. Chesterton",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "G.K. Chesterton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Plato in some sense anticipated the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-catholic-realism-as-attacked-by/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-catholic-realism-as-attacked-by/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
