According to the context in which it is used, the word form refers to various issues.
The outward appearance of a body
Its most widespread use turns out to be that which says that the form is the external figure of a solid material body. That is to say, it is the figuration that a body has on its exterior and by case it is that the shape allows us to recognize square, round, rectangular shapes and various shapes in the same body.
So, this is why we can classify the different objects into squares, spheres, circles, among others. The classification of forms in this sense tells us about Geometric or basic shapes (They are the equilateral triangle, the circle and the square, each one has its own characteristics and they turn out to be the basis for the formation of others), Organic or natural forms (those to which man resorts to carry out his artistic creations) and Artificial Forms (those created by man, for example, a chair, a car, a table, among others).
The way for the philosophy and opinion of the most prominent philosophers
On the other hand, the concept of shape has a special presence in the field of philosophyWe just mentioned that shape was the exterior figure of a material body, while once known that shape, it is possible, thanks to the power of abstraction, to bring it back to our mind and also make groupings of objects according to their shapes; Then, in the same way, we can group and order things in our mind, unifying them in concepts that will denote us just by thinking about them the properties of them, standing out from each one some way that is what will allow us to know what it is essentially.
Philosophy then has approached the subject on many occasions, while one of the philosophers who provided definitions on the question was the Greek Aristotle who distinguished between the first and second substances. The first are those individuals that make up a species and are made up of matter and form and by power and act. And the latter are universal substances. Ultimately, for Aristotle, form is that which makes the first substance what it is and not something else. The form determines the matter. Matter acts in a more passive way while form is active and it is what makes matter unique. The form is also the essence of things because it will make them what they are and not something else.
There were also other relevant philosophers and personalities who dealt with the issue, such is the case of Pythagoras who argued that the shape of something is what differentiates it from another and in his opinion it was the number that made the difference.
And Immanuel Kant, a relevant 18th century philosopher, argued that knowledge begins in the sensible world and matter must be shaped to organize experience and create knowledge. Reason can sort the reported matter by categories.
But there are many more applications of the concept, very specific ...
Other specific uses
In the way of arranging a thing, or failing that, in the way of doing it, it is also known as form.
Also, when way of expressing that someone has, either in writing or in their conversations, it is usually called as the way of speaking, the way of writing of this or that.
And when you want to realize the physical condition that a certain person presents is usually talked about in terms of form, that is to say: "despite the amount of carbohydrates he consumes daily, Juan continues to be in very good physical shape." That is, when someone has a good physique they are often told that they are in excellent shape.
In politics the word is used to refer to the different types of government systems that exist and that imply different ways of exercising power: democratic, authoritarian
