Socrates Allegory In The Republic

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At 2:13 PM EST on April 11, 1970, NASA released four brave souls into the abyss of space, ultimately testing their endurance, courage, and patience. Collectively, both astronauts and ground control used their wits to endure long hours and solve a seemingly impossible problem, getting four marvelous men back home from space safely. Through this mission, Apollo 13 undeniably extracts the wisdoms of Socrates philosophies and embarks them on untested waters, the crew takes use of this philosopher’s definition of justice as well as his allegory of the cave as they overcome a plethora of complications in which even one negligible mistake could mean death, ensuing perfect teamwork and compliance. Within The Republic, Socrates refutes all of his …show more content…

Within the film (and also the real life event), the astronaut’s work together in order to overcome the life or death situations they face, also trying to figure out what to do with such a meager amount of communication with Earth, due to failing systems. Both ground control and the pilots had to perfectly execute each task in which each member was specifically trained to do, as any mistakes would lead to their demise. The actions taken by the crew as a whole can correlate to the imagery of Socrates city, as it only works if everyone does their own duty, in return making a magnificent city, and in this case, an exemplary crew of men. (Plato 46) The astronauts truly expanded their already astute minds and push their boundaries, leaving their theoretical caves and venturing further towards the sun then anyone before them, literally. (Plato 208-210) Each participant working on getting the shuttle back to Earth, had to balance their three inner attributes, using their rationale processes to keep their appetitive side for giving up in check, as well as their courageous side which ultimately powered the brave men to continue fighting for their families, coworkers, and own survival. (Plato 132) This mission, originally planned to land on the moon, took a turn for the worst as the ship lost control

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