谁能用英文介绍下柏拉图(Platon)的思想，字数不限！

理念论是柏拉图哲学的核心，在柏拉图思想体系中，它也是对中世纪基督教哲学产生最大影响的理论。它所表现出来的先验性则在中世纪则发展为光照论，从而成为近代唯理论和先验论哲学的先驱。它和托马斯－亚里斯多德主义的分歧最终导致的是对上帝（神学）的两种不同态度。

Platonic philosophy attempted to capture essence in a different way. Plato thought what we see in the physical world is a dim reflection of the true ideal thing. For example circular objects are crude approximations to the ideal perfect circle. Platonic analysis aims to understand the physical world in terms of the ideals that capture the real essence that is dimly reflected in physical existence.

Today the ideal world that captures the true circle is mathematics. Unlike Euclidean geometry, contemporary mathematics has no primitive objects with innate properties. In mathematics everything is structure. Mathematical captures the mathematical properties of the ideal circle as an abstract structure.

Removing essence from primitive objects in mathematics serves a valuable purpose. It forces all structure to be explicit. One avoids impli