allegory of the cave
DESCRIPTION
Plato's Theory of Forms present within Allegory of the CaveTRANSCRIPT
Theory of Theory of FormsForms
Theory of Theory of FormsForms
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Plato (428-427 B.C)
WHO WAS HE?Plato, born possibly in Athens, at a time
when Athenian democracy was already well developed.
He belonged to a wealthy and aristocratic political family.
Founder of the Academy in Athens, which can be regarded as the Western world’s first university, and its first school of philosophy.
He died at 80 years old
Context of the timeAll questions at one time were spiritual in nature,
and the Greek religion was there to answer all these questions
The rising and setting of the sun was Helios
Earthquakes and the tides were controlled by Poseidon
Ancient Science had proven these gods to be false;
With little left to answer, Science and Philosophy began to tackle the remaining questions
Where do we come from?
What are we doing here?
What is the meaning of life and the universe?
Questions of the time
Plato the manLong line of Skeptics (including Socrates)
Eternal and unchanging knowledge was hard to find in the world
Everything was always changing – even our senses/body
In his Socratic dialogues Plato argues through Socrates that because the material world is changeable it is also unreliable.
Test the Senses
Are these equal?
Evilor
Good?
What is this?
What’s wrong with this picture?
Perception Always Changes
Draw a ball
Constructed Reality
We perceive imperfect ‘reflections’ of the Forms
A form is an eternal idea that exists outside of the physical world
Timeless and unchanging, transcendent above all things
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Eternal
They exist forever, independent of all things. They do not need to be created nor sought, the just “are”
Transcendence
They do not exist in space and time. A material object, a basketball, exists at a particular place at a particular time. A form, roundness, does not exist at any place or time.
PureThey are pure properties separated from all other properties.
A material object, such as a basketball, has many properties: roundness, ballness, orangeness, elasticity, etc.
Forms are Incorruptible
The Forms
EternalTranscendentoDo not exist in our time and space
Changeless PerfectPureo They are “pure” properties
separated from all “other” properties.
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Example of the Forms
The Divided Line
Simile of the Sun
The Allegory of the Cave
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Simile of the SunUnless there is light, our eyes cannot
see, even though they have the power of sight, and objects that we can see exist and have colour and shape.
It is only in the presence of light, which comes from the sun, that we can see.
The sun also causes growth
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~ The sun causes sight.
Plato thinks of sight as a power that the eye gets from the sun, as though eyes actually make what they see ‘visible’ in a way similar to how the sun makes things visible.
Plato says….
Allegory of the Cave
Bound Prisoner Only knows the
images as reality
He mistakes the reflection for the true appearance of reality
Believes the shadows to be a person but its only the reflection of a real person
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What are the Shadows?Government
Education
Relationships
Authority Figures
Reality
Bound Prisoner
When the bound prisoner is released, he turns his head to see his captures
Confusion arises Sees the opening of the
cave and exits towards the light
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Bound Prisoner Exits the Cave
The Form of the Good revealed
Prisoner now sees the world above the cave
He realizes the error in his thinking
He now sees the accepted form of reality, and not the reflected reality in the shadows
The prisoner returns to this cave to tell the others what he sees – Strange Prisoner ~>
“Nothing so educates us as a shock” (Durant SoP, 13)
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The Forms are the Causes of All that Exists
The shadows on the wall represent material objects, while the real objects are the forms outside the cave.
The forms contribute all order and intelligibility to objects.
Important evolution in the thinking process
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Allegory of the Cave
Represents a bigger part of Plato’s Republic o man’s quest for the Good
Man must remove misconceptions of reality and seek what is Good
Leads too Plato’s Philosopher Kingo Model understandingo Awareness of reality
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Philosopher KingPhilosophers contemplate that which they do
not know
Educate themselves to all things
Protect the needs of the many
Soul strives for Truth, Justice, and Meaning
The rational part of his soul must seek “Just”
The The Allegory Allegory
of the Caveof the Cave
The The Allegory Allegory
of the Caveof the Cave
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