Platonic 'Forms'

In the Platonic dialogs, Socrates uses forms to demonstrate that people use 'forms' to justify arguments (such as Justice, Good, Noble). Socrates demonstrates that these 'forms' weren't gathered from the senses. You cannot see Justice, but only reason about it. The separation of the senses from the 'forms' is what gives the 'forms' special consideration from knowledge obtained by the senses. This means that 'forms' can be more susceptible to human longing.

In many ways 'forms' are anti-philosophical. They are the projections of the soul (better understood as pure thought) being a slave to the body. People will want something and invent something like love to explain and justify why they are doing this. The dialogs do not say forms exists but only that they exist out of human thoughtfulness that is distorted by the body. We do not see reality directly but only through special lenses. Forms are an invention of the human imagination to make life relevant to how are able to interact with the world.

Furthermore, It is well understood that Socrates makes bad arguments on purpose. The Socratic method is all about putting forth an argument and refining it and not about making an airtight thesis. All the arguments that Socrates' companions bring up require an assumption that forms exist. If you read closely, you will find that Socrates is quite critical of forms. While Socrates is arguing with his friends. He defines the argument as other people present it or how things are commonly thought about. Near the end of the dialogs Socrates then, after his friends still do not understand they are being foolish, offers a parable of some sort showing how reason is limited to certain things that pertain to how humans think. His friends still do not understand but we as readers can more easily recognize their foolishness.

Simply put, the tradition of philosophy that was started by Plato is a pursuit of knowledge with the understanding that reason is part of being a human and is not actual reality. This differs drastically from what maybe seen as the scientific pursuit of knowledge which tries to separate the human component of knowledge meaning that what science discovers is not part of human reasoning but an actual law of nature outside and independent of human thought.