Premium Essay

Mrs Plato Cave

In: Film and Music

Submitted By Nieto251025
Words 301
Pages 2
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 of his metaphysical theories regarding the distinction between truth and knowledge. As the allegory is crafted to convey that the basic condition of mankind with respect to perceptual judgments is essentially one of error and confusion. As it begins by painting striking picture of human life as imprisoned in a world of darkness and shadows inside a cave where a group of prisoners chained since

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Rationalism and Skepticism

...(Prompt 2) Samar Al-Haqab Samar Al-Haqab Mr. Lyman Hong English 1A October 8th, 2013 Rationalism and Skepticism: Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave and Wachowski’s The Matrix Today’s modern media and society are greatly influenced by not-so-modern artists, philosophers, and writers. We have all watched, read, or analyzed something that was based off of the idea of someone before us. One example for this would be the movie Inception (2010), directed by Christopher Nolan. In this movie the depiction between the idea of a dream and reality is extremely contrasted to the point where it is difficult to draw the line between what is or is not real. The mind boggling adventure of this movie makes us wonder; did the director draw this idea from thin air? The answer is no. In fact, the animated film Paprika (2007), directed by Satoshi Kon directly resembles the ideas and concepts of Inception. This is because Paprika served as a basis for Christopher Nolan in his movie Inception. Movies, concepts, and ideas are always being interpreted or rephrased in different forms. Aside from these two movies, there are other works that are very similar by concept. Two pieces of work that will be discussed further in detail are, the philosophical work, Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Lana Wachowski’s movie, The Matrix. Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave walks the readers through a dialogue between a character named Glaucon and Plato’s former...

Words: 1874 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Allegory Of The Cave And The Awakening Essay

...The dark, foreboding nature of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” makes the work seem a bit dramatic when compared to Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Nonetheless, the two pieces of literature are remarkably similar; both stories feature a protagonist who takes a journey from the darkness of ignorance towards the light of truth. In the beginning of The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is a traditional wife and mother. At this stage, she is just like the prisoners in “Allegory of the Cave”, along with everyone else in her life and in her society. These prisoners have mistaken “shadows”, or society’s expectations, for the “truth”, or individual desires. Life events like meeting Robert cause Edna to rethink her desires. At this stage, she is escaping...

Words: 1178 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Allegory of the Cave

... Mr. Platt Revelation of the Soul We live in a society where we are told what to eat, drink, think, etc. Living in such a ritualized lifestyle can often leave us blind. However, we don't even realize it. The "Allegory of the Cave," by Plato, is more than just a story; it's a tool that can be applied to our life in almost any situation. For instance, looking into this story, I realize how much it is related and connected to religion. It is so easy to just do what everyone else is doing just to feel accepted. Which was me, a conformist, trying to fit in. Plato's story not only opened up my outlook on life, but was an interpretation of my allegory of the cave–being saved spiritually. I did everything and anything just to fit in with everybody else. When he or she is a child, they usually practice the same religion as their family, because it's the only way one knows. When I was younger, my parents enrolled me in a private school, Goshen Christian. I didn't know what the importance of religion was when I went there. I was just going because my parents told me to. Which relates to the cave in a way, for instance, Plato says, " human beings living in an underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light…; here they have been from their childhood, and their legs and necks chained so they can not move…" (Plato 449). This relates because even from my early childhood I felt as if I was chained...

Words: 1101 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Summary Of Rhoda's Jewelry Box '

...penmanship medal won fairly by her schoolmate, Claude. Claude is suddenly murdered and everyone is taken back by the incident while Rhoda pays little attention to the news. Christine, Rhoda’s mother, finds the penmanship hidden in Rhoda’s Jewelry box. According to Plato, “Last of all he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as he is,” (869). Christine is seeing the light and moving away from ignorance towards her child. She starts to contemplate whether Rhoda could have been the person responsible for Claude’s death. Christine now suspects Rhoda and questions her about the penmanship. Now, Christine’s attitude and demeanor towards Rhoda changes, as she no...

Words: 1477 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Andre Bryant In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

...In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Plato thinks that most people live their own world and don’t pay attention to other people and their truths. People remain oblivious to other people’s truths or the world’s truth. Andre Bryant, a character in the Freedom Writers , describes his class as all dumb kids that will never go anywhere. He fails to believe in himself or his classmates. Andre’s own mom does not even look at Andre because she believes he will be in prison like his father. Since so many people doubt Andre, Andre doubts himself. Andre Bryant starts to break his chain when he firsts receives his journal. When Andre first meets Mrs. Gruwell, he asks her why does she deserve his trust? But, by the time he receives his journal, he trusts her enough to let her read his journal, which contains extremely private thoughts. Andre changes when a drug dealer asks him to make a deal for him, but Andre declines so he can go to the Holocaust Museum. Andre benefitted attending the field trip immensely because for him and all of the students, it opened their...

Words: 427 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Philosophy & Ethics

...[pic] PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS Revision Summary Notes Revision Notes Foundation for the Study of Religion Part One: Philosophy of Religion Plato and the Forms Influence of Socrates • Socrates said that virtue is knowledge – to know what is right is to do what is right. • All wrongdoing is the result of ignorance – nobody chooses to do wrong deliberately. • Therefore, to be moral you must have true knowledge. The problem of the One and the Many Plato was trying to find a solution to the problem that although there is underlying stability in the world (sun comes up every morning), it is constantly changing (you never step into the same river twice). 1. An old theory about this problem is that we gain all knowledge from our senses – empirically. 2. Plato disagreed with this. He said that because the world is constantly changing, our senses cannot be trusted. Plato illustrated his idea in the dialogue, ‘Meno’: Socrates sets a slave boy a mathematical problem. The slave boy knows the answer, yet he has not been taught maths. Plato suggests that the slave boy remembers the answer to the problem, which has been in his mind all along. So, according to Plato, we don't learn new things, we remember them. In other words, knowledge is innate. Plato’s Theory of the Forms Plato believed that the world was divided into: 1. Reality and; 2. Appearance |REALITY |APPEARANCE ...

Words: 17188 - Pages: 69

Premium Essay

Financial Term Paper of a Company Which Is Helpful

... 3. Plato Khisa (B1506035) 4. FarhanajAnchal (B1506075) 5. K.HusFariha (B1506120) 6. SumaiyaMeher(B1506155) Submitted To Lecturer AKTER KAMAL Business Mathematics Bangladesh University of Professionals Submission on Date: 02/05/2016 BBA 2015; SEC- C LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 02 may 2016 Akter Kamal Lecturer Faculty of Business Studies Bangladesh University of Professionals Subject: Submission of term paper on “The role of Pythagoras in the field of mathematics” Respected Sir, We the students of BBA, section C, we are very glad to submit you the term paper on the topic of “The role of Pythagoras in the field of mathematics” that you asked us to submit, which is a part of our course requirement. For the purpose of completing the term paper we did a simple research on the provided topic. We have completed our research and assessment on our term paper topic according to your specification and regulation. We have tried our best to gather information according to the requirements and our ability. There may be a few mistakes, because we are still beginner in this line of work but we hope that in future this term paper will remind us not to make the same mistakes again and so this will become a great learning in experience. At last, we would like to thank to you for guiding and encouraging us to prepare the Term Paper. Sincerely yours, 1. Faisal Enayet (B1506003) 2. Hafijul Hasan (B1506007) 3. Munia Akter(B1506031) 4. Plato Khisa...

Words: 7947 - Pages: 32

Premium Essay

Smith and Wessen

...PHIL 127: History of Ancient Philosophy Socrates and His Mission When is a Question Philosophical? Philosophical questions have answers. (A question that has no answer is not a question; it just masquerades as one.) But a question is philosophical for a particular culture at a particular time when no means of answering it are available – or, none of the prevailing methods have any authority. A problem is a philosophical problem when the way to go about answering the question is in question. An issue is a philosophical issue when the right way to settle the issue is at issue. A Philosophical Crisis If the claims in the previous paragraph are true, then 5th century Greece was in a philosophical crisis. It was a crisis in morality. In our culture we think of morality as being concerned with rules. Here are some rules – You should not kill. – You should not steal. – Don’t hit people. – Lying is wrong. – It’s wrong to promise to do something and then not do it. – You should not covet your neighbors wife, or his ox or his ass or his male or female slave, or anything that is your neighbor’s. – You should not lie with a man as with a woman. – Thou should not wear fabric woven of wool one way and linen the other. – Do (imperative) unto others as you would have them do unto you. – Help (imperative) other people who are in need when you can do so at no great risk or cost to yourself. Why do we think of morality as consisting of rules? This question is important...

Words: 28769 - Pages: 116

Premium Essay

Good Life

...mTELECOURSE STUDY GUIDE FOR The Examined Life FOURTH EDITION author J. P. White Chair, Department of Philosophy Santa Barbara City College contributing author Manuel Velasquez Professor of Philosophy Santa Clara University This Telecourse Study Guide for The Examined Life is part of a collegelevel introduction to philosophy telecourse developed in conjunction with the video series The Examined Life, and the text Philosophy: A Text with Readings, tenth edition, by Manuel Velasquez, The Charles Dirksen Professor, Santa Clara University. The television series The Examined Life was designed and produced by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, Netherlands Educational Broadcasting Corporation (TELEAC/NOT), and Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) Copyright © 2007, 2005, 2002, 1999 by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, 150 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 300, Pasadena, California 91105-1937. ISBN: 0-495-10302-0 Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Lesson One — What is Philosophy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Words: 78103 - Pages: 313

Premium Essay

Philo

...Business Ethics (Supplementary Lecture Notes) Mr. Joel C. Porras “Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actios, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, they beconme your destiny.” ANONYMOUS Preliminary Notions: A. Etymological: The word ethics comes from the Greek word “ethos” ,meaning : custom, a habitual way of acting character, a meaning that the Latin terms “mos” , “moris” also connote. Among the Greeks , “ethics” meant what concerns human conduct/human action. B. Descriptive: Largely a concern of cultural anthropologists and sociologists. Its task is to describe how some person, members of a culture or society address all sorts of moral issues, what customs they have, and so, how they are accustomed to behave. C. Met-ethics: Concerns itself with the meanings of moral terms: like good and bad, right and wrong, duties and rights, etc. Hence the concern is with the understanding of the use of these terms, their logical forms and the objects to which they refer. Sometimes the concern of meta-ethicist is even more fundamental: What is the possibility of moral philosophy. D. Normative: Ethics is normative, not in the way that logic is, namely. With regard to the correctness of our thinking, but with regard to the goodness of our living, the right orientation of our existence. It is a practical science, not simply because it treats human action,...

Words: 17119 - Pages: 69

Free Essay

How to Read Computer Technology Like a Professor

...From How to Read Literature Like a Professor Thomas C. Foster Notes by Marti Nelson 1. Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not): a. A quester b. A place to go c. A stated reason to go there d. Challenges and trials e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge 2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion b. Not usually religious c. An act of sharing and peace d. A failed meal carries negative connotations 3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another. 4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet 5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems. b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously...

Words: 3545 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Philosophy

...P LA T O and a P LAT Y P U S WA L K I N TO A B A R . . . Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes < T H O M A S C AT H C A RT & D A N I E L K L E I N * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * P l at o a n d a P l at y p u s Wa l k i n t o a B a r . . . PLATO and a PLAT Y PUS WA L K I N T O A B A R . . . < Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes Th o m as Cat h c a rt & Dan i e l K l e i n A B R A M S I M AG E , N E W YO R K e d i to r : Ann Treistman d e s i g n e r : Brady McNamara pro d u c t i on m anag e r : Jacquie Poirier Cataloging-in-publication data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress. ISBN 13: 978-0-8109-1493-3 ISBN 10: 0-8109-1493-x Text copyright © 2007 Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein Illlustration credits: ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/Bruce Eric Kaplan/ cartoonbank.com: pg 18; ©Andy McKay/www.CartoonStock.com: pg 32; ©Mike Baldwin/www.CartoonStock.com: pgs 89, 103; ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/ Matthew Diffee/cartoonbank.com: pg 122; ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/ Leo Cullum/cartoonbank.com: pg 136; ©Merrily Harpur/Punch ltd: 159; ©Andy McKay/www.CartoonStock.com: pg 174. Published in...

Words: 41407 - Pages: 166

Free Essay

The Case of the Speluncean Explorers

...by the Court of General Instances of the County of Stowfield. They bring a petition of error before this Court. The facts sufficiently appear in the opinion of the Chief Justice. TRUEPENNY, C. J. The four defendants are members of the Speluncean Society, an organization of amateurs interested in the exploration of caves. Early in May of 4299 they, in the company of Roger Whetmore, then also a member of the Society, penetrated into the interior of a limestone cavern of the type found in the Central Plateau of this Commonwealth. While they were in a position remote from the entrance to the cave, a landslide occurred. Heavy boulders fell in such a manner as to block completely the only known opening to the cave. When the men discovered their predicament they settled themselves near the obstructed entrance to wait until a rescue party should remove the detritus that prevented them from leaving their underground prison. On the failure of Whetmore and the defendants to return to their homes, the Secretary of the Society was notified by their families. It appears that the explorers had left indications at the headquarters of the Society concerning the location of the cave they proposed to visit. A rescue party was promptly dispatched to the spot. http://www.nullapoena.de/stud/explorers.html Page 1 of 27 The Case of the Speluncean Explorers 01/21/2007 03:58 PM The task of rescue proved one of overwhelming difficulty. It was necessary to supplement the forces of the...

Words: 13364 - Pages: 54

Premium Essay

Researcg

...Biography of Nick Joaquín (1917-2004) Posted on September 15, 2010 by Pepe Nicomedes "Nick" Joaquín This is the best biography of Nick that I’ve encountered so far… The 1996 Ramón Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts BIOGRAPHY of Nick Joaquín Resil B. Mojares He was the greatest Filipino writer of his generation. Over six decades and a half, he produced a body of work unmatched in richness and range by any of his contemporaries. Living a life wholly devoted to the craft of conjuring a world through words, he was the writer’s writer. In the passion with which he embraced his country’s manifold being, he was his people’s writer as well. Nick Joaquín was born in the old district of Pacò in Manila, Philippines, on September 15, 1917, the feast day of Saint Nicomedes, a protomartyr of Rome, after whom he took his baptismal name. He was born to a home deeply Catholic, educated, and prosperous. His father, Leocadio Joaquín, was a person of some prominence. Leocadio was a procurador (attorney) in the Court of First Instance of Laguna, where he met and married his first wife, at the time of the Philippine Revolution. He shortly joined the insurrection, had the rank of colonel, and was wounded in action. When the hostilities ceased and the country came under American rule, he built a successful practice in law. Around 1906, after the death of his first wife, he married Salomé Márquez, Nick’s mother. A friend of General Emilio Aguinaldo, Leocadio...

Words: 8246 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

What Is Christian

...Essay on Christianity. By Percy Bysshe Shelley. From the 1880 edition of The Works of Shelley in Verse and Prose, edited by H. Buxton Forman. Click here for Forman's editorial preface. ESSAY ON CHRISTIANITY. THE Being who has influenced in the most memorable manner the opinions and the fortunes of the human species, is Jesus Christ. At this day, his name is connected with the devotional feelings of two hundred millions of the race of man. The institutions of the most civilized portions of the globe derive their authority from the sanction of his doctrines; he is the hero, the God, of our popular religion. His extraordinary genius, the wide and rapid effect of his unexampled doctrines, his invincible gentleness and benignity, the devoted love borne to him by his adherents, suggested a persuasion to them that he was something divine. The supernatural events which the historians of this wonderful man subsequently asserted to have been connected with every gradation of his career, established the opinion. His death is said to have been accompanied by an accumulation of tremendous prodigies. Utter darkness fell upon the earth, blotting the noonday sun; dead bodies, arising from their graves, walked through the public streets, and an earthquake shook the astonished city, rending the rocks of the surrounding mountains. The philosopher may attribute the application of these events to the death of a reformer, or the events themselves to a visitation of that universal Pan who—— *****...

Words: 10307 - Pages: 42