The Allegory of the Cave from The Republic

The Allegory of the Cave from The Republic, Book VII Plato

What is Philosophy? • Denotatively, the word means “love of wisdom” • According to Merriam-Webster, philosophy is: Ø the pursuit of wisdom Ø a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means Ø an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs Ø the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group

Why Study Philosophy? • The unexamined life is not worth living. (Socrates 400 BC) • Vocational training is the training of animals or slaves. It fits them to become cogs in the industrial machine. Free men need liberal education to prepare them to make a good use of their freedom. (John Dewey, 1916 AD) • Know yourself. (Plato, 387 BC)

Journal #1 • Is it better to be ignorant and happy or wise and miserable? Explain.

Socrates 469 -399 BC • • • Father was a stone carver; mother was a midwife Father claimed to be descendent of the god Poseidon Father died when Socrates was a boy Mother remarried her uncle; they raised Socrates Tried his hand as a stone sculptor and was very bad by all accounts Known for teaching through discussion of ideas, using questions to challenge students' assumptions about the world Learning how little we know is how we learn Never wrote anything down, so we have no written works by him; also no pictures (although they say he was quite ugly) Sentenced to death by hemlock for not recounting his atheist beliefs and for corrupting the young men he taught

Plato 428 -348 or 347 BC • Student of Socrates • Wealthy family • Started out with career in politics, but left when he realized that politicians weren't truthful -- didn't think clearly • Started his own university, "The Academy, " in 387 BC • Based on "ideas" as truth -- ideas exist in perfect truthful state in our minds • Physical world is misleading, and therefore not what you should base truth upon • Constant struggle for humans is discovering the reality of the world while balancing what you know to be true, and what the physical world is showing you to be true

Plato, cont’d • People born with knowledge in their heads; knowledge gathered as moved from life to life • Recalling knowledge from previous life called anamnesis -- it's how you can know something without having first hand experience of it • Point of education is to draw out the knowledge that's already in your head; use dialogues to do this • Prolific writer - approximately 24 books; wrote in dialogues so it's easy to read, and he had a sense of humor, too

What is an allegory? • A story where things in the story represent other things (think parable, metaphor). • Author uses symbols to portray message

Journal #2 • Plato said, "There will be no end to the troubles of the state or indeed of humanity itself until philosophers become kings or until those we now call kings really and truly become philosophers. " Do you agree? Why or why not?

Inside the Cave • Illustrate the cave as described by Socrates in Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave. ” Be sure to label each part of your illustration. What does each part represent (symbolically)?

Plato’s Cave Illustrated

Guided Reading Questions 1. The cave is an allegory for everyday reality. What do the items found within the cave symbolize? What does the outside represent? 2. What kinds of activities do the prisoners engage in? How does this compare to our present experiences with imagery? 3. Plato describes the process of the prisoner being liberated from the chains. Is this a voluntary liberation? What is the significance of this?

Guided Reading Questions 4. Who helps the prisoner make sense of realities both in and outside the cave? 5. What is the experience of release like for the prisoner? Can he immediately interpret the new images and realities? Why or why not? 6. Why does the prisoner have to return to the cave? If we establish that the remaining prisoners will not welcome his return, why does Plato send this liberated prisoner back?

Guided Reading Questions 7. We have two very different models of education: blank slate information delivery (i. e. , the prisoners in the cave who learn the names of the shadows through repetition) and the discovery process in which the prisoner is forced to experience and explore realities outside of his comfort zone. According to the allegory, which method is more beneficial? Explain. 8. How might society benefit from an audience that has been educated through the process of discovery? Do the arts require an active engagement to learn and understand?

Socratic Dialogue Journal on the following prompt: There is a missile headed for earth that will destroy the planet. However, if you: 1. Press button A, your family and loved ones will be saved while the rest of the planet perishes, including you. 2. Press button B, everyone excluding your family and loved ones will live, including you. 3. Press button C, you will be saved, though the rest of the planet, including your family and loved ones, will be destroyed. 4. Press no button at all, everyone, including you, dies.