Platonism

Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ presents the theory that every individual goes through a ‘cave’ in life, and eventually becomes enlightened. In the cave described by Plato, prisoners are powerless and chained to the wall. The prisoners are missing out on all the things happening behind them, like the fire and the puppets. What they can see and hear are shadows and echoes. When the prisoners tried to get out of the cave, they couldn’t face the real world; they had mistaken appearance for reality.…

Early on in Republic, it is clear that Socrates cares deeply about the idea of justice. However, he and his company cannot seem to agree on a proper definition of the word. They do, however, agree on various examples of what is not just. One such example is Socrates’ statement that “human beings who have been harmed necessarily become more unjust.” However, this statement implies that the only way to be just is to do what is best for society as a whole, rather than accounting for each…

Socrates ' conciliatory sentiment shows his profound learning in logic pretty much as the Delphic Oracle expressed "there is no individual living savvier than Socrates". The best case of Socrates trial and passing approves the cozy relationship between his character and reasoning. He trusted that logic ought to triumph in pragmatic results for the more prominent prosperity of society. Socrates endeavored to set up a moral framework in view of human reason as opposed to philosophical instructing.…

Plato’s Cave Allegory in City of Ember The secrets of the real world lie buried underground, hidden in a secret box; a box that only Lena has access to. In this movie, City of Ember, Lena and Dune uncover a round map that may lead them out of their underground life. It is during their trek to find the truth that I discover many similarities between the plot and Plato’s metaphysical views. There are many instances where the theory of forms is present. In addition to a metaphysical comparison,…

Today’s society as a whole is preoccupied by staying up with the latest trends on social media and considers binging their way through a season of their favorite TV show as an accomplishment. An unsurprising, yet disappointingly large portion of today’s population fails to live what many would consider a “good life” (needs to be in quotes?), one that has meaning and purpose. And while few would admit they lead and unaccomplished life, with a bit of further examination it is not hard to see why…

In the first account of Socrates’ description of education, he mentions that the guardians should not be ruled over “pleasures like drink, sex and food” because “excessive pleasure..drives one no less mad than pain does” (402e). Yet, over the course of the conversation, we see Glaucon becoming absolutely enthralled by “the good” through Socrates’ enticing description of it. Glaucon equates “the good” and the process of obtaining it to pleasure, which is something Socrates previously urged…

In this paper I will argue that, based on the text of Philebus, virtue and true pleasures have their locations in the mixed life. Because the truth of pleasures must be measured by reason, and the practice of virtue is constituted of using reason to measure. I will start with defining true pleasures and virtue, and present the seeming incoherence in Socrates’ accounts of their location. In the second section, I will propose an interpretation of Socrates’ words and locate true pleasures and…

In the "Allegory of the Cave," Plato is telling the story of his teacher Socrates in discussion with Glaucon a fellow philosopher. They are discussing a hypothetical situation. There is a group of prisoners who are held captive in the cave chained by the neck and feet. They cannot turn their head or move their bodies. All they can see are images in front of them and the glowing in the back of them from the side. The images are shadows that pass behind the prisoners but they don't know that…

Pythagoras was the original philosopher, and is rightly seen as the father of the greatest of the ancient thinkers as his ideas and discoveries brought light and understanding to a world of darkness and ignorance. In the late 500s BC, Pythagoras, a man who would be destined to influence and change both the ancient and modern world, was born in the Greek city of Samos(Douglass). Being raised in a wealthy family, Pythagoras grew up surrounded by different forms of education that varied from music…

In this essay, I will present the allegory of the cave, explain what it is about and evaluate what Plato may be trying to teach us. Within this allegory, Plato presents us with a cave that contains a group of people that are chained it's wall for their whole lives. The way they were chained had them facing a blank wall, in which they were able to see shadows casted onto it due to a flame that would burn from behind them. Between the fire and the men was a wall and a walkway. This was used by…