Metaphysics & Epistemology Lesson 4: Plato and the Allegory of the Cave

Philosophy Question of the Day!!! Have you ever thought that you knew something for certain, only to find out later that you were wrong? What was that certain belief or idea? What was the basis for your initial certainty? What caused it to be called into question? Do you know anything for certain now? How do you know for sure that you know for sure?

What major philosophical question is explored by Epistemology? Epistemology: One of the 5 branches of philosophy is the study of knowledge and its acquisition What major philosophical question is explored by Epistemology? How do we know?

List two ways we acquire knowledge- Awareness- when you experience something Understanding- the thought process about the experiences What is Knowledge then? The mental combination of awareness and understanding

List two bits of knowledge that you posses- Anything that you have knowledge and understanding about.

Allegory A kind of story metaphor where things in the story are really about/represent other things. Ex: The turtle and the hare…it’s a story about a race between the two animals…but

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave Make a prediction-List the properties of a cave and guess what the cave might represent in the allegory

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave Needed: One student to read for Socrates and one student to read for Glaucon Other students: follow along in your packet

What’s the Allegory of the Cave About? The prisoners The chains holding the prisoners The moving shadows The fire The pain at seeing the bright light The sun

The Cave Represents mental, intellectual, and spiritual confinement, a trap of ignorance, and blind faith or beliefs without question.

The prisoners Represent people who don’t want to learn anything new, the unconscious majority, people living in the chains of denial

The chains holding the prisoners The means of holding the prisoners from reaching truth, reality

The form holders (shadows) Represent established information, the status quo, possibly the government or other institutions of authority Teachers of half truths, hiding the truth, controllers, propagandists, information givers

The fire Represents false reality/illusion. The life that the prisoners know. The prisoners have no idea what fire is, but it is reality as they know it.

The pain Physical pain from being in the dark so long, mental pain from never experiencing the truth, a sudden change of consciousness from perceived truth to reality Change is difficult; it is hard to accept the truth and realization of a false reality

The sun Reality, truth, divine knowledge, objective truth, and goodness

What is the allegory really about? Plato is talking about true knowledge of reality. Most of the time we are prisoners of our own culture and upbringing and expectations. We don’t really see or experience REALITY, only shadows of what is really real.

What does Plato want you to do? Get out of the cave. Understand the world and reality as it truly is.

Apply the Allegory to Your Life What “cave” do you have in your life and how might you come out of it? What “shackles” would need to be removed? What’s the warning though?