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Discuss Plato's theory on knowledge
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Recommended: Discuss Plato's theory on knowledge
In one of Plato’s most famous three analogies, that of the divided line, which was perfectly, rather clarified in the book The Republic. It is one of the most articulate stories. Plato brought out these models of truth, knowledge, and the natural world of truth along his analogy of the divided line. However, Plato’s analogies are over 1900 years old, I believe but they can still play a big role in today’s world. Plato believes that his manner of knowledge produced in his divided line, can be a significant part in creating a healthier culture and community.
Plato’s expression about his analogy of levels of knowledge, and the nature of certainty that he called the divided line. Plato then spread this mode of awareness into four different categories. These four different categories were then separated in two. Then he expresses the objects, which characterize the different modes of knowledge. In addition, the two groups of four were separated again. Nevertheless, these objects of awareness were dividing sandwiched between knowledge and opinion. In everything, Plato confirms that in order to move on to the next level a person must truly be aware of each mode of awareness. I believe this is the center for Plato’s divided line analogy.
Now we can picture it that one of these prisoners was librated. First, the prisoner sees the statues and fire that is causing shadows. However, he then believes and sees the shadows as reality and the statues plus bright fire as illusions. Next, when he fined his way out of the cave then he saw true objects for the time. The true objects signify the ideal forms, which are not visible to us. In order words, this was the juncture of the intelligible world. Moreover, this prisoner had gladly and willing...
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...According to what we read in Book VI of the divided line and idea ruler, this individual has now become the most elite person to govern the society because he can now grasp the forms and only the people that merit this deserve to rule over others. Therefore, we can say education in some way cannot be a vision in a soul; instead, it turns the soul around being able to reflect the in itself. Reality in a way is rather implanted in our minds.
These forms of analysis point to us that even if we can see things it still does not mean that it does not exist. Plato revealed to us that we have three stages of knowledge growth: Thinking, Intelligence, and Belief. The one that would have made it four, Imagining, Plato describes it as the lowest among this growth.
Works Cited
Plato. The Republic of Plato, 2nd edition. Translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1991.
Plato. Republic. Trans. G.M.A. Grube and C.D.C. Reeve. Plato Complete Works. Ed. John M. Cooper. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997.
In the second stage, the cave dweller can now see the objects that previously only appeared to him as shadows. “Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer th...
Plato's best-known distinction between knowledge and opinion occurs in the Meno. The distinction rests on an analogy that compares the acquisition and retention of knowledge to the acquisition and retention of valuable material goods. But Plato saw the limitations of the analogy and took pains to warn against learning the wrong lessons from it. In the next few pages I will revisit this familiar analogy with a view to seeing how Plato both uses and distances himself from it.
One prisoner somehow manages to escape allowing the prisoner to break free and escape to the outside of the cave.He was greeted by a whole new world and further confusion. The sun blazes down upon him nearly blinding him before he covers his eyes.The confusion and intense lighting brought on a gigantic feeling of confusion.The prisoner backs up and returns to the forsaken cave and speaks of his findings to the other prisoners. The prisoners listen briefly. So bizarre & not fully being able to understand what the prisoner was saying, the other prisoners shunned him and paid no attention to his findings.They ridiculed him and told him they wanted no parts. The prisoner waddled in his own confusion.This allegory tells a story with a deeper hidden meaning. In the story once the prisoner escaped the cave he was blinded by the sun. The sun is a symbol
Upon examination of these three prominent works, a clear overarching metaphor can be seen; pattern change, as illustrated through astronomy, nature (phases), and the metaphors of the sun, light and the heavens; pattern to change. The overarching metaphor can be found most prominently with the loudest of Plato’s themes; reflection. He writes that only through reflection, the act of turning around, retracing our steps, recalling/investigating our memories, examining boundaries we can achieve enlightenment-akin to reason and knowledge.
Plato’s cave had chained prisoners and that was the only life they ever knew. They couldn’t move their heads, and the only objects they could see from the outside world were the casted shadows created by the fire. They saw the truth from the shadows, but they were distorted. What they were seeing was only one side of the truth, not the whole thing. When one of the prisoners was free to go, he was forced to be dragged out of the cave. It
The universals in Plato’s sun, line and cave are being, truth, knowledge and intelligible. He uses the sun as the being, or the form of good, the light as the truth, the sight as the knowledge and the visibility as the intelligible. The form of the Good, in terms of Plato’s metaphysics is the most important. Plato is unable to tell us exactly what the Form of The Good is, but he does tell us that it is the foundation of intelligibility and of our capability to know. Also that it is accountable for bringing all of the other Forms into existence. Metaphysics (reality) and epistemology (knowledge) run in tandem to each other. There is only one world but things that are of varying degrees of reality populate it. Plato didn’t look at it as black and white; he looked at it as degrees and
Philosophers are often tempted to find out the hidden meanings behind the apparent reality. A lot of valuable contributions to that particular philosophical topic were made by Plato. Much of contemporary philosophy is still being based upon what he had left behind. Also, many other themes developed by philosophers can be related to Plato`s vision of reality and form. William Goulding in his essay, ‘Thinking as a Hobby’ assigns three grades to thinkers based on their understanding of the world and their perceptions of truth. The truth in Goulding`s (2004) writings can, conveniently, be related to the truth in Plato`s work, as the end meaning and the thematic vision is similar in nature. Goulding argues that detachment from the popular perception of reality and the ability to create new ideas takes an individual to the grade-one level of thinking, while blindly following the norms would be an attribute of grade-three thinkers. Similarly, in the ‘Allegory of the Cave’, Plato narrates that once a prisoner had been freed, he understands the reality behind the shadows.
In The Republic, Plato presents the relationship of the Divided Line and the Allegory of the Cave in connection to his epistemology and metaphysics. Throughout the Republic he discusses his beliefs on many topics using examples that express his ideas more thoroughly. He is able to convey very complex beliefs through his examples of the Divided Line and Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s epistemology depicts his idea of the Divided Line which is a hierarchy where we discover how one obtains knowledge and the Allegory of the Cave relates to Plato’s metaphysics by representing how one is ignorant/blinded at the lowest level but as they move up in the Divided Line, they are able to reach enlightenment through the knowledge of the truth.
The concept of the divided line is introduced in the Republic and shows that the line is in proper proportion to the understanding of the good. When I looked at the line, I noticed that it contains two main sections, each divided into two subsections that are proportioned in size that represents to the whole for the understanding of the good. The sections that are given in the line are Imagination (Eikasia), Belief (Pistis), Thought (Dianoia), and finally Understanding (Noesis). Each division within the line holds a level of understanding that is proper to the understanding of the ultimate level understanding. This idea is a person move up the line by increasing the knowledge they have and then moving to the next level of understanding until
Plato. The Republic. Trans. Sterling, Richard and Scott, William. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1985.
This paper endeavors to uncover what knowledge is and the conditions for its possibility by taking on Plato’s epistemology. I will place Plato’s distinction between knowledge and opinion first. And to further understand his position on knowledge, the Theory of Forms must be explained. Additionally, the Allegory of the Cave is then described since it illustrates how knowledge revolves around this theory.
The Divided Line visualizes the levels of knowledge in a more systematic way. Plato states there are four stages of knowledge development: Imagining, Belief, ...
Plato believed that knowledge was inherited and was, therefore, a natural component of the human mind. Plato believed that one gained knowledge by reflecting on the contents of one 's mind.
According to Plato dialectic as a vehicle for moving from a concern with the material world to a concern with the world of ideas.The dialectic crosses the ‘divided line’ between matter and idea.