section_path: Theories of the intrinsically good/Platonic idealism
section_name: Platonic idealism
paragraph_text: Platonic idealism
  
  One attempt to define goodness describes it as a property of the world with Platonic idealism. According to this claim, to talk about the good is to talk about something real that exists in the object itself, independent of the perception of it. Plato advocated this view, in his expression that there is such a thing as an eternal realm of forms or ideas, and that the greatest of the ideas and the essence of being was goodness, or The good. The good was defined by many ancient Greeks and other ancient philosophers as a perfect and eternal idea, or blueprint. The good is the right relation between all that exists, and this exists in the mind of the Divine, or some heavenly realm. The good is the harmony of a just political community, love, friendship, the ordered human soul of virtues, and the right relation to the Divine and to Nature. The characters in Plato's dialogues mention the many virtues of a philosopher, or a lover of wisdom.
  
  A theist is a person who believes that the Supreme Being exists or gods exist (monotheism or polytheism). A theist may, therefore, claim that the universe has a purpose and value according to the will of such creator (s) that lies partially beyond human understanding. For instance, Thomas Aquinas —a proponent of this view—believed he had proven the existence of God, and the right relations that humans ought to have to the divine first cause.
  
  Monotheists might also hope for infinite universal love. Such hope is often translated as " faith ", and wisdom itself is largely defined within some religious doctrines as a knowledge and understanding of innate goodness. The concepts of innocence, spiritual purity, and salvation are likewise related to a concept of being in, or returning to, a state of goodness —one that, according to various teachings of "enlightenment", approaches a state of holiness (or Godliness).