In The Republic, Plato posits the idea of the education of the mind and soul towards enlightenment using the Allegory of the Cave. It separates most of humankind, who think and express themselves without any awareness or concept of Plato’s Theory of Forms, albeit doing so with knowing only the World of Becoming, or sensory knowledge, from this who can accept the Theory of Forms and see the correct and true way. I believe that despite the flaws it presents, the Allegory of the Cave is an accurate and succinct representation of Plato’s Theory of Forms and his Theory of Knowledge, and is still applicable to us today. In order to prove this point, I shall be referring to key features of Platonic epistemology, including Plato’s Theory of Forms and
…show more content…
The first, pertaining to ethics and morality, is that ethical behaviour requires knowledge, and that the knowledge must be of eternal moral and ethical values which are unchanging and cannot be subject to subjective opinion. (CSUN.edu, Plato: Theory of Knowledge 2006) Plato believes that true knowledge must be infallible. Plato believes that how we perceive things is not knowledge, as perception means appearance. (CSUN.edu, Plato: Theory of Knowledge 2006) An easier way of explaining this is by using what is referred to as The Tripartite Theory of Knowledge. This is the three conditions which one must pass in order to possess knowledge. The three criteria are belief, truth, and knowledge. The first condition is belief. If one cannot believe something, it cannot be knowledge. True or not, if one does not believe it to be true then it cannot be said to be known to be so. (Theoryofknowledge.info nd) The second condition is truth. If the thing is known, then it must be true. If you have belief but not truth, then it cannot be true (Theoryofknowledge.info nd). The third and final condition to be met is justification. To know something, it is not sufficient to believe it, they must be able to justify their belief. (Theoryofknowledge.info nd) Aristotle critiszed the Theory of Forms in Metaphysics, in which he said “Above all, one might ask what in the world the Forms contribute to our understanding of perceptible things.” (Aristotle,
The first, pertaining to ethics and morality, is that ethical behaviour requires knowledge, and that the knowledge must be of eternal moral and ethical values which are unchanging and cannot be subject to subjective opinion. (CSUN.edu, Plato: Theory of Knowledge 2006) Plato believes that true knowledge must be infallible. Plato believes that how we perceive things is not knowledge, as perception means appearance. (CSUN.edu, Plato: Theory of Knowledge 2006) An easier way of explaining this is by using what is referred to as The Tripartite Theory of Knowledge. This is the three conditions which one must pass in order to possess knowledge. The three criteria are belief, truth, and knowledge. The first condition is belief. If one cannot believe something, it cannot be knowledge. True or not, if one does not believe it to be true then it cannot be said to be known to be so. (Theoryofknowledge.info nd) The second condition is truth. If the thing is known, then it must be true. If you have belief but not truth, then it cannot be true (Theoryofknowledge.info nd). The third and final condition to be met is justification. To know something, it is not sufficient to believe it, they must be able to justify their belief. (Theoryofknowledge.info nd) Aristotle critiszed the Theory of Forms in Metaphysics, in which he said “Above all, one might ask what in the world the Forms contribute to our understanding of perceptible things.” (Aristotle,