Platonic Space as Cognitive Construct: Toward a Framework of Cognitive Platonism/Platonic Cognition

Classical Platonism posits a transcendent realm of ideal Forms, but this metaphysical stance is difficult to reconcile with naturalistic accounts of knowledge and cognition. At the same time, cognitive science and biology increasingly rely on abstract structures, such as internal models, morphological constraints, and predictive priors, to explain behavior and organization. This paper proposes a naturalized reinterpretation of Platonism, grounded in the idea that form functions not as a static blueprint but as a constraint within generative processes. Drawing from process philosophy, computational neuroscience, and developmental biology, it introduces the framework of Cognitive Platonism/Platonic Cognition: the view that abstract structure is real insofar as it organizes system dynamics as process of becoming. Forms are not external templates but emergent patterns encoded in systems memory, inference, and interaction. They shape perception, morphogenesis, and agency by narrowing the space of viable trajectories, offering a principled solution to the problem of form within a naturalistic worldview.