Abstract

F. Copleston is an outstanding historian of philosophy and his name associates "A History of Philosophy" including 11 volumes. The work is an academic research. At first volume, he discusses the theory of Ideas in the 20th chapter. Copleston, after an elementary discussion and a description of the "vulgar" presentation of the Plato's theory of Ideas, and based on some Platonic dialogues and Aristotl's interpretation, tries to ascertain, as far as possible, what Plato's doctrine of Ideas actually is. But it seems that Copleston's good intention is not completely in conformity with what he presents. The present article illustrates Copleston's view and his postulate: Ideas are subsistent Universals. This claim shadows all research of Copleston. Studying this claim, we try to show that Copleston's report is the same as Aristotl's interpretation of Ideas. From my point of view, this interpretation and report in some acpects are doubtable. Moreover, in the text of Copleston and its Persian translation there are some deficiencies that requires corrections.