...Two of the most famous philosophers of the 4th Century B.C. were Plato and Aristotle. Plato’s philosophy was based on “arête”. He created the theory of Forms and with the Parable of the Cave to help explain his theory. He wanted to understand the soul. He believed the soul was a Form. This influenced modern Western ideology of Christianity because Plato suggests the Form occupied our bodies. According to Plato, “when the body dies, the soul is judged and sent for 1,000 years to tenfold rewards in heaven or tenfold punishments in the underworld” (Morris and Powell 399). Aristotle, on the other hand, was more of a rational and logical thinker. He created the theory of potentiality, collected data for more rigorous rules of logic, and studied...
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...Joseph Campbell's The Hero Cycle from The Hero with a Thousand Faces and Plato’s “Parable of the Cave” are both written pieces that are made to explain the common journey characters go on to gain knowledge and become enlightened and the importance of their transformation on their quest. Joseph Campbell's theory is that there are certain steps all characters must take before gaining the title of Hero and the prize of enlightenment and knowledge. These steps consist of separation, initiation, and return. Separation is either deliberately or involuntarily leaving one known condition and ending up in an unfamiliar condition, initiation is encountering trials or villains, and return is the result of being shaped by this experience, and coming out...
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...Plato’s Republic and Machiavelli’s The Prince are each hugely important texts in the history of philosophy. Even though they were written approximately 1900 years apart, they represent two of the most valuable commentaries on political philosophy. They are of course, very different in their discussions of philosophy, yet some similarities are evident. Plato writes about philosophy through the mouth of Socrates, illustrating indirectly through a lengthy dialogue his own ideas and opinions. As a contrast to this method of narration, Machiavelli writes The Prince as a letter of personal advice to Lorenzo Medici. Within his work, Machiavelli makes numerous recommendations that have earned him the label of a heartless and cruel man. Plato, on the other hand, makes much of his discussion about the true nature of philosophy and the just treatment of all citizens. Despite numerous differences, Plato and Machiavelli each desire the rule of philosophers in their states, but while Plato approaches this with direct rule and education of philosopher-kings, Machiavelli appeals to manipulation and deceit in order to secure the rule of philosophers. Plato’s aim in his political state is for the greatest good of all people, through the best balancing of the natural elements on an individual and political scale. According to Plato, the human soul is comprised of the reasoning part, the spirited part and the appetites. The parallel elements within a city are the rulers, warriors and artisans...
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...If a picture speaks a thousand words, then a parable speaks a thousand truths. We love stories with hidden meanings, whether it's a movie, a book, or performance, the underlying truth that sparks the "A-ha moment" captures us. That's what parables do. Parables have been told for centuries across all cultures, and they're just as profound today. It all started in the ancient times where a few teachers, who possessed the power of knowledge, used these parables to teach important lessons to their chosen students. The parable is a very simple story, and yet not that straightforward. The naive manifest is the perfect way to hide the inner meaning. This latent content could only be understood only by those who prove themselves able to do that. As...
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...Wilson’s opening statement about her research). I was about to relate this to the main theme of “The Allegory of the Cave” (The Allegory of the Cave page 25). As Dr. Wilson stated, research isn’t easy and we discovered that discovering the truth isn’t easy either. Plato’s main point is that the ultimate truth (the sun) is hard to look at. This means that discovering the truth isn’t easy but we cannot stay “in the cave” and continue to be ignorant. We must explore outside of our “caves” and be willing to leave this “darkness.” Dr. Wilson compared amino acids to a child’s first “pop together” toy link. This instantly made me think the child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and how it took a child to speak up to say that the emperor in fact was naked (The Emperor’s N 1Qew Clothes page 34). Sometimes we overlook things and miss the obvious facts that are right in front of us. “Phytochrome proteins change shape when exposed to light” (from PowerPoint) made me think of “The Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant.” (The Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant page 24). The men in this parable were “blind” (ignorant) when they were exposed to the other men’s ideas of what the elephant relates to (winnowing basket for...
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...Shaquilla Carter November 13, 2013 The Cave The parable of the cave is a story where men are held prisoner is a cave. These men could not move because they were chained underground and all they could see are shadow of things from the fire that was burning. These men only saw shadows of things because of the fire and walkway. The light was projecting objects and these men would guess what each was. These men were never outside in their entire lives. They were trapped in a cave where darkness ruled and very little light was shown. There only contact with mankind was echoes they heard from people passing by. What kind of life is this for these men? They had no understanding of life outside the cave. Plato later asks the question of one of these men being freed and getting a chance to see real light. How would this man react? How would he adjust to the light? This man finally was able to see the real images of life. After taking all of this in the man finally got to see the real light, the sun. Now his eyes are opened for the first time in his life. Then the man comes back to the cave. He has to readjust his eyesight to the darkness. Plato's divided line theory talks about the distinction between the different levels of knowledge and reality it wants us to imagine a vertical line. The left half is dedicated to metaphysics and the right half is dedicated to epistemology. Now imagine a horizontal line running through the middle of the vertical line to form quadrants. The upper...
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...Plato’s Cave Christopher Nieto PHL/443 February 12, 2013 Mr. Richard Albin In philosophy the distinction between truth and knowledge is effectively highlighted in Plato’s allegory of the cave, which illustrates the great limitations faced by philosophers in discovering the ultimate nature of reality. Nevertheless regarding the theory of knowledge, the parable itself is highly symbolic and asserts that any knowledge gained through perceptual awareness is an illusion and are mere reflections of the highest truths. This allegory can be interpreted in many ways; however in the context of platonic epistemology it flawlessly conveys Plato’s “Theory of forms” of an immaterial realm of abstractions considered to be the highest reality in which upon all natural phenomenon is based on. The difference between truth and knowledge itself moreover is a much simpler matter. Since the only semantic distinction between the two is that, truth is anything that is in accord with fact or reality whereas knowledge are any facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education. However from an epistemological perspective disagreement still remain about whether our senses can be trusted to discover the ultimate nature of reality and subsequently establish if the perceived world as we know it is not just an illusion or a dream. Additionally within the framework of The Republic; the allegory of the cave presented by Plato demonstrates the essence...
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...The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. He sees it as what happens when someone is educated to the level of philosopher. He contends that they must "go back into the cave" or return to the everyday world of politics, greed and power struggles. The Allegory also attacks people who rely upon or are slaves to their senses. The chains that bind the prisoners are the senses. The fun of the allegory is to try to put all the details of the cave into your interpretation. In other words, what are the models the guards carry? the fire? the struggle out of the cave? the sunlight? the shadows on the cave wall? Socrates, in Book VII of The Republic, just after the allegory told us that the cave was our world and the fire was our sun. He said the path of the prisoner was our soul's ascent to knowledge or enlightenment. He equated our world of sight with the intellect's world of opinion. Both were at the bottom of the ladder of knowledge. Our world of sight allows us to "see" things that are not real, such as parallel lines and perfect circles. He calls this higher understanding the world "abstract Reality" or the Intelligeble world. He equates this abstract reality with the knowledge that comes from reasoning and finally understanding. On the physical side, our world of sight, the stages of growth are first recognition of images (the shadows on the cave wall) then the recognition of objects (the models the guards carry) To understand...
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...archetypical(1) Heroine(2) which has been passed down through the Collective Consciousness(3). Born as a lowly slave her journey is one to surpass her meager beginnings. She is faced with a world in which she finds her worldly superiors mentally inferior to herself. By taking the initiative and doing things without first informing her master she is able to outwit everyone. In doing so she kills forty murderers. Eventually, her status is raised to that of a citizen and she is celebrated beyond normal humans (Janaro & Altshuler, 2012). Cassim and Ali Baba are two brothers. Cassim married a woman and received a large dowery and lived in wealth. Ali Baba was a poor woodcutter as he had to provide for his wife himself. Ali found a cave that thieves were storing gold in. Curiosity(4) got the best of him and he went inside. He was careful to only steal a small bag so that it would go unnoticed. Cassim found out and took a donkey trying to steal as much as possible. Because he was greedy(5) he was caught and murdered by the thieves. The body chopped up and hung as a warning. Ali being of a good nature made sure his brother got a decent burial(6). Morgiana was a slave girl who had belonged to Cassim. Ali knew her to be smart and asked for her help in keeping the details of her masters’ death a secret. She successfully faked her masters death through cunning(7) so that no one would be suspicious that he had been murdered. Meanwhile Ali took his brothers wife as an...
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...separate entities, and so as a believer of a mélange of different ideas and philosophies, I must say that I do not believe that the epistemological gap can be bridged. Plato first began to tackle the epistemological gap by presenting the idea of “Forms”. He insisted that through love here in existence, we are pointed to the perfect forms above, with each step up being a step closer to the higher Forms. He believed that all things in existence participated in the perfections above us. For example, anything beautiful here on earth partakes in the bigger, higher Form of “Beauty” in the heavens. Plato gives the cave parable in his dialectical The Republic to further explain the pathway from denseness to clear. All people on earth view only the shadows reflected off the wall of a cave, while real life is going on outside in the mouth of a cave. Between mankind and the mouth of the cave is a cascading fire that casts the shadows of the real and true Forms outside. Plato mentions a divine creator Demiurge, who shaped the world from preexisting chaos, using archetypal Forms, in which the Forms provided the model for the world. Because Plato believed that the...
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...world like they are a type of justice being served. 7. Zeno’s paradoxes were regarded as trivial by those who came after him. 8. The aim of the “two rows” or “blocks” paradox is to show that motion is impossible. 9. Parmenides argues that there is one fundamental kind of change. 10. The Milesians adopt a common strategy, differing only in how they carry it out. * 1. On Plato’s view, a shadow of a feather is more real than the feather. 2. Plato’s metaphysical ideas can be summed up in the phrase “seeing is believing.” 3. Plato says that there are some things that last forever. 4. The parable of the cave illustrates the way Plato understands the learning process. 5. Plato’s line in the simile of the line is divided into four equal parts. 6. The shadows on the wall of Plato’s cave represent the forms. 7. A realist believes that there are mind-independent entities, while an idealist does not. 8. Plato is a realist. 9. Forms are the entities that Plato believes to exist, and this is why he should be considered a realist. 10. Plato’s solution to the problem of change might be seen as resolving a conflict between the Milesians and the Eleatics. * * Presocratics page 90-everything is water * `Passage 85 * part c-relate to problem of change Page 145 * Passage 141-eveything is air- “infinite air was the principle,...
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...The Parable of the Sadhu Case Recount 1 New Zealander came staggering with a body Dumped the almost naked, barefooted Sadhu at McCoy’s feet and left McCoy took his pulse; Stephen and 4 Swiss gave outer clothings Japanese refused to transport the Sadhu down to the hut with their horse Stephen attempted to help the Sadhu but was suffering from altitude sickness McCoy took off, leaving the Sadhu with Stephen Sherpas carried Sadhu down to a rock at 15,000 feet; Japanese gave the Sadhu food and drink Sadhu was last seen throwing rocks at dogs Fate of Sadhu unknown What happened high on the Himalayan pass? Describe all the people who were there. Why is the incident so important and memorable for McCoy? Sadhu • Hindu monk • Renounce material attachments, food, clothing and shelter • Leaves behind all material attachments • Lives in caves, forests and temples • Never ending pilgrimage • Rugged life (eg. early morning bath in cold mountain) • Wears little or no clothing Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_4425905_become-hindu-sadhu.html Why is the incident so important and memorable for McCoy? • Doesn’t know the final outcome • Lessons about the corporate world was learnt What do you think is the “basic ethical dilemma” referred to by McCoy? Basic Ethical Dilemma Should McCoy have done more? What factors may have influenced the various hikers’ decisionmaking? The perception among some that “the Sadhu has himself to blame for the...
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...Q.1. Why are we willing to suspend disbelief when we see a play, yet we demand so much more from a film production? Do you think that the limitation on special effects and alternative demand on the audience member to suspend disbelief is a weakness or strength of the theatrical experience? Would you rather see The Tempest on stage or in film? Why? Answer: In a theatrical play, we feel as if we are a part of it. The physical proximity to the “characters”, requires “suspension of disbelief” in order to continue enjoying the play. “Suspension of disbelief” is a term coined by famed poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in the year 1817. This term implies to the willingness of the audience or the reader to ignore certain factors, such as supernatural, or limitations of the medium, to really enjoy the piece of art he/she is witnessing (Suspension of Disbelief, 2013). For example, in a magic show audience know that they are being tricked, and the magician is creating an illusion, but they willingly suspend disbelief in order to enjoy the show. In my opinion, the limitation on special effects is a strength of theatrical plays, as it leaves the audience to their imagination, and serves the purpose of transporting the audience to a fantastical world where there occurs an encounter with the live characters of the play. We become so involved in a theatrical play that added demand on suspension of disbelief becomes immaterial. Unlike a film, we feel as if we are participating in a play, and...
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...The first parable is the parable of the sower. The sower throws seeds and some land on the path with no soil, some on the rocky ground with little soil and some on soil that contains thorns – and those seeds all fail to become plants. But some seed landed on the good soil and that is the seed that grows. Jesus then tells them that this means the seed is the Word of God and the soil is the reaction to it. The good soil is the one who accepts it and the others are those who reject it. He then compares the Word of God to an oil lamp, it lights up a room and should not be hidden. He tells another parable, the parable of the growing seed, then he tells the parable of the mustard seed – saying that the kingdom of god is like a tiny mustard seed, but when it grows up it’s one of the biggest plants. He later explains some of the meanings of these parables to his disciples but not to the crowd of people he was preaching to. One day Jesus and his disciples were at sea and a huge storm comes, the disciples are afraid and wake Jesus up and he responds by rebuking the storm and then asking them “why are you so afraid? Have you still so little faith?” (v....
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...died a few years later eventually making Muhammad an orphan at young age. He was raised by his uncle Abu Talib after the death of his grandfather left him with no one else to care for him. Muhammad worked as a merchant and a shepherd with his uncle, which led him to many encounters of people from many different faiths and backgrounds. At the age of 25, Muhammad married a woman that was fifteen years his senior named Khadija. They were happily married for 24 years, which is when Khadija passed away. Throughout the course of his marriage Muhammad did not marry anyone else even though polygamy was common in his time period. In his late 30s, Muhammad began traveling regularly to a cave on the outskirts of Mecca to seek solitude and contemplation and then one day when he was forty he returned from the cave and told his wife that he had been visited by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel came to him while he was in a trance-like state and told Muhammad that he had to proclaim the word of Allah, the one true God and even though Muhammad was reluctant he was eventually persuaded. Khadija eventually became his first...
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