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3 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
PLATO - ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
- Ancient Greek philosopher. - Some people are sat in a cave, chained to stop them from looking round, fire behind them, puppets used to cast shadows on the wall for prisoners to see. - One prisoner released, struggles up to mouth of cave, blinded by sun outside, begins to realise that the cave was limited, not the real world. - Goes back to tell his fellow people about the outside world, they laugh at him, threaten to kill him if he tries to save anyone else - they refuse to believe anything other than the world they have known all their lives - the cave. |
- Using this analogy, Plato says that the material world we live in is a mere shadow/poor copy of the realm of Forms. [See Realm of Forms flashcard.]
- The cave represents the material world, the chained prisoners represent humanity [who accept everything at face value/don't question], shadows represent everything we perceive to be normal everyday things. Sun outside represents true world, Form of the Good, man blinded because he can't comprehend at first. - When returns to cave, sees it was fake all the long, others cannot see that because they lack philosophical enquiring mind. |
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PLATO - ALLEGORY CONT.
- WHAT IS REAL? - Everyone in story thinks what they see is real. Prisoners' knowledge based on what they see, and they accept this with no questioning. - Plato is saying that EMPIRICAL KNOWLEDGE [gained by senses] is flawed, doesn't show reality. - Freed prisoner gains A PRIORI knowledge of reality. [Based on experience.] By this, Plato is saying we need to distinguish between the two realms of appearance + reality. - HOW IS TRUTH KNOWN? - Only person who succeeds in discover truth is the freed prisoner. He alone is prepared to make long difficult uphill journey to mouth of cave and the real outside world. |
- HOW SHOULD SOCIETY BE ORGANISED?
- Cave represents a world in which everyone held back because of reliance on sensory experience. Shadows represent our senses, always changing. - Like prisoners, we try to understand our senses, but can't. Therefore, best person to lead society is the one who can break free of this - the philosopher, who rejects sensory experience and is open to reality. - However, when freed prisoner returns to help his fellow people, they reject him, preferring ignorance. Likely that Plato here referred to his teacher Socrates - he challenged the ideas of the day and was sentence to death for it. |
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PLATO - ALLEGORY CONT. 2
- WHO IS THE BEST LEADER? - In Plato's view, society led by the philosopher who has no distractions like family, material possessions. - WILL THE ARGUMENT STAND UP? - Argument is ABSOLUTIST. Means it is fixed, cannot be altered. He believed his allegory could be applied to all, UNIVERSAL. - Critics of Plato's allegory say there is no solid evidence that the worlds of the cave/outside exist. - Aristotle criticises Plato - said that his theory of Forms = unnecessary proposal. No need to split world into two parts to explain objectivity/permanence in our experience. |
PLATO'S THEORY OF FORMS
- Plato says the world we live in is a mere shadow of the real world. Our [material] world constantly changes, and we rely on senses to figure out what's going on. He says the real world is unchanging/eternal, and it is where the perfect forms of the things in the material world reside. - |