The Divided Line

Socrates: Was He Guilty or Innocent of the Crimes He Was Charged With? Most of the information that we learn about Socrates comes from the work and writings of one of his students, Plato. It has been alleged that the great Philosopher wrote nothing down for others to read, and as such, the knowledge and the teachings from Socrates that is relied upon to convey his philosophy and the epic story of his life comes not from himself, but his students who attempt to provide and accurate picture of the methods and philosophical beliefs held by their mentor and teacher.

Victoria McAlister Professor Talcott Ancient Philosophy 5 December 2014 Consistency in the Sun, Line, and Cave Plato’s theory of the Forms showcases that acquiring knowledge involves turning away from the world of senses and moving towards the Forms/world of intellect. Within Plato’s Republic there are three analogies: the sun, line, and cave, which are intended to clarify how things experienced in the sensible world are less real than the Forms. All three analogies are consistent through their descriptions of the differences between the intelligible and sensible worlds. The usage of all three also enables Plato to guide readers through the knowledge process, starting with a simple description of the sun and ending with a full example of how man can reach that sun.

Plato, in addition to being a philosopher, wrestled at the Olympic level, is one of the classical Greek authors, mathematicians and the founder of The Academy, the first higher learning institute in the west. In short, Plato is one of the great thinkers in history and his contributions to philosophy, ethics and politics are many and varied. One of Plato’s main philosophical ideas is based on the idea that the world

Advances in Art, science and politics were made in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Greek philosophers were among the first in the West to explore nature in a rational way and to make educated guesses about the creation of the world and the universe. This is why Greece

SUMMARY RESPONSE TO PLATO'S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE (625 WORDS) The main idea presented by Plato in his infamous Allegory of the Cave is that the average person's perceptions are severely limited by personal perspective. Plato uses the metaphorical situation of prisoners chained together in a way that limited their visual perception to the shadows projected from behind them onto a wall in front of them. He uses that metaphor to illustrate that perspective determines perceptions and also that once an individual achieves a wider or more accurate perspective, it becomes difficult for him to communicate with those who are still limited to the narrower perspective that he may have once shared with them. Plato meant his allegory to apply to the limitations of perspective attributable to social experiences as well as to the absence of formal education and training, particularly in logical reasoning. Plato believed that logical reasoning is a skill that must be learned through formal training and that without adequate training, it is substantially impossible to understand the logical perspective.

The similarities between these two are most evident in their desire for freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted freedom from segregation and Plato wanted freedom from ignorance. They both wanted justice, and knew that it was immoral to take deny another being justice. For example, Plato has said,

Here Hawking and Mlodinow are comparing psychics and philosophy. Which is saying the choice for theory-dependent understanding of reality over straightforward observation as final mediator. Plato believed there was only one real version of anything or basically the perfect version. Plato also believed that through deep thought and rational thinking someone can achieve genuine knowledge. Plato says the world is timeless and knowledge about world forms is genuine knowledge. Plato believed philosophers should rule the world because they seek out real knowledge and not just imitations of

Political and social theories between the two philosophers were very different. Plato had very Totalitarian or even communist views for state government. He in his novel The Republic, he describes in much detail his utopian society. He felt society should be organized into three groups: “rulers, auxiliaries and labourers.”(Gaarder 91) The rulers or guardian class would have reason; education and intelligence this would make them well suited for leadership. Plato called these rulers ‘Philosopher Kings’, they would rule for the good of all in the society. Philosopher

Plato uses this section of the dialogue to emphasize that he is now out of his realm of understanding and is in the Intelligible World where true reality, according to Plato, exists. Because the man can analyze and reason to move up to the Intelligible World, Plato shows this as a shift to the Realm of Mathematics. At the time, great value and importance was placed on the concepts of mathematics such as analytical and reasoning faculties of the mind and thus would have influences Plato to place it on a higher level. Due to his level of understanding and the major shift from one World to the other, he is overwhelmed and takes time to slowly learn the new concepts. However, once the man is adapted enough, he can look directly at the beings and the objects that cause the shadows on the wall. In the theory of the Divided Line, Plato exemplifies that the man is looking at what are the known as the Forms. The Forms are the perfect objects that exist in the higher realm of understanding and are shadowed on the wall of the cave. Thus, he is stating that what the people in the cave see are simply imperfect and skewed representations of the true and perfect forms from which they originate.

Leadership many times can be misinterpreted by many individuals. Leadership is an ability that not everyone is meant to have nor develop. In fact, many can be called, “leaders” but that does not imply that their leadership role plays a positive impact on others. At times, some people seek leadership

Comparing Aristotle and Plato We have two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. These are great men, whose ideas have not been forgotten over years. Although their thoughts of politics were similar, we find some discrepancies in their teachings. The ideas stem from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle. Plato based moral knowledge on abstract reason, while Aristotle grounded it on experience and tried to apply it more to concrete living. Both ways of life are well respected by many people today.

The Allegory of the Cave in Plato's Republic This paper discussed The Allegory of The Cave in Plato's Republic, and tries to unfold the messages Plato wishes to convey with regard to his conception of reality, knowledge and education. THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" is a story that

As with most philosophers, the philosophical method of both Plato and Nietzsche was influenced by philosophers before them. Plato is the well-known protégé of Socrates. Many of Plato’s dialogues include Socrates in them or are written about Socrates, such as The Apology, which is Plato’s

Hume vs. Plato on Knowledge Introduction Plato's ideas on knowledge represent, perhaps, the most foundational and influential attempt to establish the boundaries of what can be known. His ideas have had an immense influence on successive philosophers as well as Western Civilization as a whole. David Hume, who came over two millennia after Plato, represents perhaps the most relevant attempt to establish the boundaries of what can be known.

Plato argued that true knowledge was not obtained through the knowledge of the physical world around us, but from these unchanging ideas. Plato’s theory of knowledge is well explained through his discussion of the Divided Line; a line divided into two unequal parts. One section represents the visible order and the other intelligible order, relating to opinion and knowledge, respectively. The stages of cognition flow upwards: imagining, belief, thinking, and intelligence. The visible, changing world of opinion begins with the awareness of images through perception. Awareness of images can include