Philosophy And Ethics

Front 1

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.

Back 1

- 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.

Front 2

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.

Back 2

- 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.

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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.
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