Concepts in epistemology

Socrates’ argument for the Tripartite soul is as follows; “The same thing cannot do or undergo contraries at the same time, in the same respect, and within the same part.” And “the human psyche undergoes contraries at the same time in the same respect.” Therefore “the human psyche must have different parts.” Socrates claims that the soul has three distinct parts. They are reason, appetite, and spirit. Plato believes that reason should rule the other two. He says, “…[we call an individual] wise…

In the beginning of book VII of the republic is one of the famous metaphors of philosophy: the allegory of the cave. The allegory of the cave is a theory designed by Plato to show how knowledge we get thru our five senses is nothing more than opinions. If we keep accepting this as real knowledge we are forever stuck in the cave. If we want to reach actual knowledge we must do so by using philosophical reasoning, and that is how we escape the cave. By escaping the cave, one reaches the…

In The Republic, Plato tells a scene through the conversation between of one of his students, Glaucon, and his mentor, Socrates. The scene, titled Allegory of the Cave, represents the state of the human race, who is blind to reality. The allegory continues to demonstrate what happens when one person becomes enlightened. Socrates describes a scene set deep in a cave, where a group of men sit chained to a wall. Above and behind them another group of men hold up a flat cut-out shape that…

One must challenge their way of thinking, because the things we think we know can actually be misleading. Most people believe that they are great critical thinkers, and as great critical thinker they do research, to not be fooled by any information that is presented. What people are not aware of, is that the evidence that one seeks out can actually be misleading, because in most cases it only proves the initial beliefs that one already had. This occurs because human tend to be bias about…

In Black’s thesis relating to the Identity of Indiscernibles, one of the dialogue participants refers to the symmetrical universe as an example of two objects (“a” and “b”) and whether one of them have distinct qualities, that the other doesn’t have. The principle states, “For any x and y, if x and y have all the same properties, then x is identical to y.” The argument between “A” and “B” in the thesis highlights whether these two objects will be distinctive enough to prove which…

Plato was a well-known Greek philosopher who differed from other greats around his time such as Socrates and Aristotle. Plato differed from them due to the fact he taught very general ideologies focused on the bettering of one’s self to stand in the light of spiritual truth and recognize that even the world is such a small reality; one must not be focused on self virtues but think of how to benefit one’s whole society. Plato reiterated his beliefs in some of his works such as, Phaedrus. In this…

Determining the root to the problem between science and religion is a task that many try to explain. The contrasting viewpoints often contradict each other and sometimes validates an idea established. This area of conflict is most prevalent in the Scientific Revolution, where many began to get into the habit of questioning and understanding the human role within the world. With help from philosophers, mathematicians, and poets the shift from narrow to broad perception of the world began. At…

The Allegory of the Cave In Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave, he touches upon the ideas and beliefs of how humans perceive reality. In the story, Plato describes that the chained prisoners in the cave believe that the shadows casted on the wall are reality simply because that is all they have ever known, and thus have never questioned if the shadows are real. The prisoners have been left in the dark to make out what is truth with only the light defused from a fire behind them. However, when one…

Imagine if your best friend asked you if they looked good, but you thought they didn’t.Would you lie or would you not lie?I firmly believe that lying is unacceptable in our society. Lying is unacceptable as it morally wrong.For example,Brad Blanton said,”through my work as a psychotherapist in Washinton D.C area I found that lying was pervasive in people’s personal and professional lives.Everyone lies.Even people with professional and personal lies but it isn’t good. In addition, Immanuel Kant…

experiences are real. Descartes then develops his argument furthermore to prove his existence and the idea of dualism. In his Meditation he raises the question: “How can I know that I am not dreaming?” This very question provoked a very problematic concept that many philosophers attempt to explain. This dream argument that Descartes engaged in was so simple yet so deep as it impacts and weakens all our knowledge and beliefs of the external world. Therefore, it has become one of the most major…