Skip to main content

Plato's Cave-> Plato's Ladder? -Rachael Gregson



 Ah, the well-known Plato's Cave. I remember reading this in Mashburn's introduction to philosophy class two semesters ago. This second go-round allowed me to notice something I failed to acknowledge then, and that is that Plato not only laid out different ways of thinking, he also laid out different ways of life. To better understand this point, picture someone being asked to define kindness in each of these stages. In the beginning stage, which would be imagination, they may associate kindness with what it seems like rather than what it actually is supposed to be. Something that appears kind may might as well be kind. This all ends at thought, the last stage, which is when someone can define kindness by deciphering between what what is kind and what is actually not kindness through a very logical, analytic process where 'looks' can be not be trusted and ran with. 

Plato's point is that we can never instantly appear at the thought stage. All of the stages are interconnected, and we must educate ourselves through all of them to be considered truly knowledgeable in an area. The way I grasp it is that it is sort of like a ladder. We must step on each rung to make it to the top. The inside of the cave represents the bottom, our starting point, whereas the outside of the cave represents our ending point of knowledge and awareness. The purpose of life according to Plato is to never settle or be satisfied for what's inside the cave, but to slowly migrate out of our comfortability and into something that hurts (but in a good way). 

I commented on posts by Jamie and Ian.

Comments

  1. Caroline TuckerOctober 5, 2020 at 9:06 PM

    The way you presented the cave and how the intention is to continue out of the cave and into the new no matter how much it hurts reminds me of growing pains. Sometimes it takes pain to learn the most important things. Like learning about the love of family. The people who value family most have most likely witnessed or experienced a loss of a family member or a fallout in the family.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jessef LeslieOctober 5, 2020 at 9:38 PM

    I agree but all ladders have an end; Plato's idea of good and knowledge is a process that has no end. It nonetheless is a great comparison! Also, the people inside of the cave are locked in place, they have no way of getting out of the cave in the first place, which prohibits the ideal: going into the light. Going back into the cave also hurts though, and might even be more difficult and painful than leaving it, so is that what Plato is telling us to do as well?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lovers of Wisdom, Not Power—Lily Caswell

In Book VIII of Plato’s Republic, Socrates talks about the possibility of having a well-governed city. However, he also talks about how that particular form of government is impossible to have. A well-governed city becomes a possibility only if you can discover a better way of life for your future rulers than holding office.” (Plato, p 215) Maybe his version of a better life was for those in office to not be lovers of power, since it would then become a fight among rival lovers. Socrates gets to the point that the only rulers who don’t love power are true philosophers. Philosophers are lovers of wisdom and knowledge and not power, ergo they are the perfect rulers. Absolute power corrupts and power corrupts absolutely, so I’m thinking that maybe the trick to being a good ruler is for you to be a philosophical person who loves wisdom and not power. I commented on Jamie’s and Isabelle’s posts.
4 comments
Read more

Oedipus’ Children/Siblings—Lily Caswell

Ok, so Oedipus is a bit of a train wreck to say the least. I love the fact that even after Oedipus found out about his less-than-appealing relationship with his mother, he still tried to look after his children/siblings. After he gouged his eyes out, his children came to him at which point Oedipus talked about how that when they were old enough to marry, no one would want them due to them being products of incest. He said for the people not to condemn them based on what their father had done. Even after he knew what he had done and what his children were, he still wanted the best for them. I commented on Logan’s and Ian’s posts.
3 comments
Read more

Dystopian Origins Uncovered ////// Isabelle Ferguson

  I think that ideas eventually run out of originality and circle back to the original idea. During this week's reading, many of Socrates’ suggestions for a place of perfection reminded me of some novels I’ve read depicting dystopian worlds. Disclaimer: There are spoilers ahead. You have been warned.        To begin, in  The  Giver  by Lois Lowry censorship is a major theme. The novel is centered around a boy who is receiving memories withheld from the population! The government in The Giver is especially careful to censor the memories that may cause strife, anger, fear, sadness, etc. In the adults, this society is cemented. So, the government is especially strict with the youth. Socrates talks about verses to “obliterate” to prevent the descriptions from doing “harm to our future warriors” for the better half of Book III (Plato, page 44). The warriors he speaks of are the youth. He goes on to list the multitude of verses that should be done ...
7 comments
Read more