...Explain Plato’s analogy of the cave ‘The analogy of the cave’ appears in Plato’s Republic. The analogy is concerned with Epistemology which focuses on gaining knowledge through reason- without the senses. This is also called a priori knowledge. Plato was taught by a Greek philosopher called Socrates. Socrates didn’t trust society and he believed that we don’t know the truth and that the truth doesn’t exist in this world, because everything changes here. Plato’s views on society are shown within ‘The Analogy of the Cave’. Plato believed that the perfect world, where we could find truth, was the world of forms. He said that the world we live in now, is full of illusions and is therefore known as the world of appearance. Plato’s theory of forms is built on the beliefs expressed through the analogy of the cave. Socrates was influenced by another Greek philosopher called Heraclitus. Plato created the analogy of the cave to represent how people were living in the world of appearance and not knowing the truth. He also represents the whole society in not being like a philosopher, and not wanting to find the truth. Plato’s analogy of the cave is as follows: There were 3 prisoners in a cave, who had been imprisoned in the cave for a very long time. They were chained up with their backs against the entrance, they were unable to move. The entrance to the cave was blocked by a fire. Behind the fire, there are people walking passed the fire, resulting in shadows projected on the walls...
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...Explain Plato’s analogy of the cave. (25 marks) The analogy of the cave is written in Plato’s famous book known as Republic. It is one of the three similes he uses to illustrate his theory of Forms. Plato uses analogy to help describe philosophical difference between physical world and the difference of the world of forms. In short the analogy explains to others about the physical world as nothing but full of illusion. He describes the true reality is to be found in the eternal unchanging world of forms. The analogy begins in the cave. The cave represents the visible world or the world of sense experience, where the shadows seem more real than truth itself. It indirectly represents the human body, which imprisons the soul preventing it from seeking the true knowledge. People are chained up in the cave such a way that all prisoners are facing the wall. They are chained up in a way that they can only look ahead of them at the wall of the cave. The only light in the cave comes from the fire. There is a wall behind the prisoners and fire is located behind the wall. Behind the wall other people are walking up and down carrying statues on their heads. The prisoners observe the shadows that flicker before them. The prisoners believe the shadows are reality as that is all they are able to see. If they hear the people behind the wall they associate the sounds made by individuals with the shadows. They think of the shadows as the true reality. Plato represents our condition as human...
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...The Analogy of the Cave was used by Plato, who was a classic Greek philosopher, in his work of ‘The Republic’ to illustrate “our nature in its education and want of education”. The Analogy of the Cave is a fictional story created by Plato’s teacher ‘Socrates’ and Plato’s brother ‘Glaucon’. The Analogy of the Cave is related to Plato’s theory of the Forms - Plato believed that behind every concept (e.g. beauty) or object (e.g. a flower) in the visible world, there is an unseen reality, which he calls its Form. There is, for example a form of beauty and a form of a flower. The forms may be seen as ideal blueprints for the particular earthly examples of beauty or flowers, and so on, which Plato calls particulars. Plato’s analogy of the cave:- Three prisoners had been chained deep inside a dark cave for their entire lives. They were chained so tightly that all they had ever seen or experienced was the grotesque shadows that were cast on to the wall from a fire that was burning behind them. This was the only reality they had ever known. Then one day, a prisoner was set free. He was blinded at first by the bright sun shine and he was amazed to see a completely new reality of people, animals, and objects casting the shadows in to the cave. He hurried back to the cave to tell the other prisoners the news but to his dismay, the prisoners did not believe his story of the world outside the cave. The shadows were the only reality the prisoners had ever known, and therefore to them,...
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...Explain the analogy of the cave in Plato’s republic (25 marks) Plato, 428-347 B.C., was an Athenian philosopher who lived in Ancient Greece. In 407 B.C. he became a pupil and friend of Socrates. After living for a time at the Syracuse court, Plato founded (c.387 B.C.) near Athens the most influential school of the ancient world, the Academy, where he taught until his death. The “Republic” is one of Plato’s greatest books that he has written. Plato’s presents one of the most famous analogies in philosophy: the cave. This analogy illustrates the effects of true knowledge. True knowledge moves the philosopher through life without any distractions, which in due course brings him to the Form of the Good. He tells the Allegory of the Cave as a conversation between his teacher Socrates who inspired many of Plato's philosophical theories and Glaucon. In the dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon, Socrates asks Glaucon to imagine a cave, in which prisoners have been kept since their childhood, and each of them is held where they are all chained so that their legs and necks are unable to turn or allow them to move. This leaves them in a predicament where they’re forced to look at a wall in front of them. Behind the prisoners is a fire and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway (bridge), on which people can walk. These people are shadow play, and they are carrying objects, in the shape of human and animal figures, as well as everyday items. The prisoners could only see...
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...Forms are the general realities or ideals versions of something. Forms in Plato’s eyes where perfect versions of something, and in the world of the appearances they are many particulars which have copies or impact versions which imitate the perfect version of the form. The world of the forms is an epistemology which can only be used by tapping into the intelligible world without using your senses. For example in the world appearances they are many types of cats but in the world of the forms there is only one perfect version of that cat. Plato’s analogy of the cave is a way to interpret Plato theory of the forms and his idea about the universe. Plato’s analogy begins with the prisoners sat in the cave, chained together, and facing a wall preventing them to see or to gain any movement: a fire blazes behind them and on the other side of a passage way. Along the pass way men carrying statues and talking casting shadows on the wall which the prisoners face which made the prisoners it is a puppet because that is all they have seen all their life. When a prisoner escapes the cave, he realises that the shadows casted are real people and that they is another world with a sun outside which at first he is blinded by. When he returns to tell the others prisoners what he had seen they do not want to leave the cave and say they will kill anyone who leaves the cave again. There are symbols in Plato’s analogy of the cave that could link to his theory of forms or his view on the universes. The...
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...What does Plato’s analogy of the cave tell us about human beings? Plato's analogy of the cave is intended to explain our journey to knowledge which is the purpose of philosophy. He does this by comparing an average person to someone who has been confined to an isolated life in a cave with the ability to only look at the shadows casted on the wall. This is used to represent the limitation of the human mind and their inability to look beyond their senses. The prisoner is enslaved to a life of in cave only seeing the shadows that are casted on the wall in front of him. This symbolises an average person who has not embarked on the journey to true knowledge and is living their life only seeing what is on the surface, what they want to see. In the cave the prisoner is held by chains, this represents the power of society over the average human being and is reinforced by the influence of media which portrays a life of misapprehension. The prisoner is cloaked with a false reality and has never known life outside the cave, this tells us that human beings have become accustom to their ‘comfort zone’ and refuse to believe in a world that they have never seen. This relates to Plato’s idea that our senses are what deceive us but can we seek a world that we have never seen, heard or felt? The mind is where all great things are conceived and no two minds are alike, this allows us to seek truth through reasoning. Plato believes that our mind is conditioned by the walls of society and humanity...
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...Plato Sample Answer Part (a) | | | Philosophy - Plato | Explain Plato's Analogy of the Cave (25 marks).This was written in 30 minutes in timed conditions.In Republic book VII Plato explains his analogy of the cave (an analogy is a simple story that has metaphorical meaning). Plato uses the analogy to help describe his philosophical position on the main difference between the physical world and the World of Forms (WoF). He believes that his analogy could clearly explain to others why the physical or world of sense experience was nothing but an illusion; that true reality must be found in the eternal unchanging World of Forms.Plato's analogy begins in a cave. The cave is meant to represent the physical world or the world of sense experience. A number of prisoners are bound by their necks and legs so that they cannot turn around. They have been this way since birth and know no other life than this. Behind the prisoners are a low wall, a walkway and a fire that burns. From time to time individuals carry objects like marionettes in front of the fire and shadows are cast against the wall in front of them. The prisoners observe the shadows that flicker before them and have developed a game over time. They try to predict the movements of the shadows. They associate the sounds made by the individuals with the shadows as this is all they know. They think of them as true reality.The prisoners in this case represent the ignorant unenlightened individuals yet to discover philosophical...
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...Explain Plato’s analogy of the cave. Plato, a famous Greek philosopher who wrote the ‘Allegory of the cave’ attempted to answer some philosophical questions (Why are we here? What is reality?). Plato tells the ‘Allegory of the Cave’ as a conversation between him and his teacher, Socrates, who inspired may of Plato’s philosophical theories. The Analogy of the cave is one of the most famous passages in Plato’s republic. Imagine prisoners being chained up in a cave, since their childhood. Theses prisoners are chained up and forced to look at the wall in the cave. The only source of light in the cave comes from a fire. Behind these prisoners is the fire and between them is a raised walkway, which allows people to walk through the cave. As the people walk through the cave their shadows are reflected onto the wall and their voices are cast as echoes. The prisoners assume that the echoes come from the shadows cast on the wall. This makes that prisoners believe that the shadows on the wall are real, because they are unable to see what is really happening. This means that the prisoners are unable to see the true causes of the shadows, as they are unable to see behind them. Suppose one of the prisoners is finally freed. This prisoner is forced into the real world; he feels confused and doesn’t understand what is going on. He naturally wants to go back to his familiar surroundings of the cave, if the prisoner is prevented from going back to the cave. Gradually his eyes become accustomed...
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...The analogy of the cave is written in Plato’s famous book known as Republic. It is one of the three similes he uses to illustrate his theory of Forms. Plato uses analogy to help describe philosophical difference between physical world and the difference of the world of forms. In short the analogy explains to others about the physical world as nothing but full of illusion. He describes the true reality is to be found in the eternal unchanging world of forms. The analogy begins in the cave. The cave represents the visible world or the world of sense experience, where the shadows seem more real than truth itself. It indirectly represents the human body, which imprisons the soul preventing it from seeking the true knowledge. People are chained up in the cave such a way that all prisoners are facing the wall. They are chained up in a way that they can only look ahead of them at the wall of the cave. The only light in the cave comes from the fire. There is a wall behind the prisoners and fire is located behind the wall. Behind the wall other people are walking up and down carrying statues on their heads. The prisoners observe the shadows that flicker before them. The prisoners believe the shadows are reality as that is all they are able to see. If they hear the people behind the wall they associate the sounds made by individuals with the shadows. They think of the shadows as the true reality. Plato represents our condition as human beings; he describes that our senses chain us and...
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...of the Cave” In “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato tells the story about the reality that comes forth through knowledge and the willingness for man to seek the truth. The Allegory of the Cave is a deep philosophical scenario that is being described by Plato in a form of a progressive conversation, which begins with Socrates having a factious conversation with is brother. The hypothesis behind his analogy is the essential principles that all we watch are imperfect impression of the conclusive structures, which implies the truth. This is portrayed as glorified feeling of what goodness and justice are. At the point when the prisoners leave the cave, Socrates explain that these are philosopher who have arrived at a comprehension of what life truly is. The three symbols are the cave, the sun, and the chains. The Allegory of the Cave all through the story the prisoners are restrained to the floor and are not able to move their legs and turn their head to view behind them. They had a fire burning behind them, and they saw shadows of people walking by carrying odd object. These shadows were all they knew they even seemed to be real. The individuals they see are the realities of life. To me, this is practically precise portrayal of life, and proceeds with progression of time. “ When educators instruct information into the soul which was not there before like sight into blind eyes”(1238). A prisoner breaks free and leaves the cave. When he first walks outside the cave he was...
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...between the two is the status or nature of the good and thus happiness. In this essay I shall explain both Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on the good life and how it should be attained. Plato’s good life is an idealist view, as he came up with the theory of ideas (ideas come first, then the world) The ‘good’ to Plato is somehow different to the actual object we see, as the good is outside the world (in the world of ideas) To ‘see’ the good of ideas we must use our rationality. He believed that the entities are corruptible as they change (they possess becoming) To live a good life one must know what the good life is as an idea. The ‘good’ ‘moral’ and ‘truth’ are all ideas and the ‘Good’ is the idea of ideas. The good is an absolute term; being self-evident, transcendental and consistent. Plato believed that the Good life equals truth which equals knowledge which equals morality. According to Plato, to lead a good life one must have internal self-control – one must know one’s self. Plato also believed that you must have a self-disciplined mind to have a good mind. One way Plato explained his idea of the good life was by using the ‘Leaky jar analogy’ He believed in the solid jar; the jar can be filled easily (i.e. satisfying a limited amount of desire) it doesn’t require refilling (i.e. the person doesn’t spend their life constantly chasing their desires) Although some criticisms of this analogy include that it may not be possible as it seems to conflict with human nature and that people...
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...a) Explain Plato’s Form of the Good Plato believed that the world we around us is an illusion, and that everyday things that we take for granted are merely weak imitations of the true object behind it. He believed that behind every earthly object, and every earthly concept (e.g. beauty), there is an unearthly truth; a perfect version. He believed that there was a place where everything that is, has been, or ever will be in existence in kept, and that is how we know that a pen is a pen, a chair is a chair. This he believed, was the only possible explanation to the philosophical question: ‘What makes a thing, the thing that it is?’ Plato believed in the soul- the only part of a human that yields any importance or relevance. He believed that it was once, (before we were born), free to roam the World of the Forms, and now that it is in our world, held prisoner in our bodies, it longs to go back. Whilst I in the World of Forms, the soul had access to true knowledge, and everything that we ‘know’ today, is just remembering what we have already learnt. Forms are placed in a Hierarchy, the Form of the Good, being the most important. It is central to the existence of our entire Universe and without it there would be no perfect beauty, no perfect justice, no perfect anything. It structures each form, giving it its own characteristics. Plato used an analogy to explain his theories. He told people of a cave, where there is a row of men, chained up, facing the...
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...Plato's Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology 1.0. The Background to Plato’s Metaphysics The author Silverman, Allan (2014) of this article titled Plato’s Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology wrote about how Plato first began to annotate his own points on metaphysics and epistemology. As we all knew, Plato’s definition of things are heavily influenced by his teachers Heraclitus (c.540 B.C.-480-70) Parmenides (c.515 B.C.-449-40) and especially Socrates (470 B.C-399). However only remnants of the writings of Heraclitus and Parmenides and also nothing left of Socrates. The only evidence that we ever had is Plato’s depiction of his teacher that is the dialog he wrote in his writings about Socrates’s views. Sometimes, it is as if it was Socrates’s writing not Plato because of the many things about Socrates he wrote. Some had said that it was his own views but instead he used Socrates as the speaker. This article also wrote about Plato’s predecessors’ views of the concept that influences his definition of Metaphysics and Epistemology which are Being and Forms. Firstly, Parmenides which he said there is one and only in this world and that is being. The truth is it never change and will never be. Sadly, there is not much we could conclude from Parmenides’s point of view. His concept of being has become Plato’s based of doctrine of Forms. As contrast to Parmenides’s definition of physical world, Heraclitus is the advocate of change. He said that the ordinary objects...
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...To explain the way in which Plato’s analogy of the cave could tell us something about reality, one could use the example that all human beings have a sense of “justice”. It of course differs between different cultures in its detail but it is present everywhere. The allegory provides explanation for this, the concept of perfect “justice” is present in the Realm of the Forms. Hence, as our soul is eternal humans through the use of anamneses have an imperfect reflection of what “justice” should be. This not only explains why all humans present this concept, even with no previous teachings of it. But also provides insight into why different cultures have a contrasting view of justice, such as the use of torture. As our understanding of the form of “justice” can never reflect perfectly, humans as a whole can never all agree on means of justice. This can be applied to any innate concepts humans portray, such ; “evil”, “beauty” and “morality”. Explaining some unclear aspects of our world. However, Plato’s theories have been heavily criticized over time, even showing flaws Plato never addresses. The third man argument developed by Aristotle directly challenges the Realm of the Forms. The argument asserts that for something to be a perfect form, it must have all the attributes of the being. Therefore, since it has all the attributes of the being, it would have to be the being not just a perfect form of a being. Simply put, if a man is a man because he partakes in the form of man, then...
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...The Use of Morality within Society Plato’s Myth of the Cave is and eye opening piece of literature. Within the passage, Plato attacks the presets of society by addressing the lack of observation and questioning. He uses the analogy of the cave to point out the close mindedness of the world around him. Unavoidably, while one questions society the issue of morality will arise. Morality, as a whole, is a complex concept that is based on the ideal of right and wrong. By applying Plato’s principle of questioning, the need society has for morality is made clear and can be understood. Aspects of society, such as religion, control what people perceive. For example, a religion can change a population's perception on an action by deeming it immoral. However it is not just religion that can do so, it can also be something as small as a teacher stating to a class “Questioning authority is bad. And it should not be done”. Plato states, “They can only see what is directly in front of them, since they are prevented by the chains from turning their heads” (Plato). In other words, Plato is remarking on the...
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