1. AN ALLEGORY
PLATO,
THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
An
allegory is a kind of story in which what happens is being compared to
something else that is similar and illustrates
something about reality or human behaviour.
The Allegory of the Cave
can be found in book VII of Plato´s best-known work, The Republic, a lengthy dialogue on the nature of justice. Often
regarded as an utopian blueprint, The
Republic is dedicated toward a discusion of the education required of a
Philosopher- King.
The following selection
is taken from the Benjamin Jowet translation (Vintage, 1991, pp.253-261).
[Socrates] And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far
our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: -Behold! human beings living in a
underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all
along the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs
and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being
prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a
fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is
a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way,
like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they
show the puppets.
[Glaucon] I see.
- And do you see, I said,
men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and
figures of animals made of wood and stone and various materials, which appear
over the wall? Some of them are talking, others silent.
- You have shown me a
strange image, and they are strange prisoners.
- Like ourselves, I
replied; and they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another,
which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?
- True, he said; how
could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move
their heads?
- And of the objects
which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows?
- Yes, he said.
- And if they were able
to converse with one another, would they not suppose that they were naming what
was actually before them?
- Very true.
- And suppose further
that the prison had an echo which came from the other side, would they not be
sure to fancy when one of the passers-by spoke that the voice which they heard
came from the passing shadow?
- No question, he
replied.
- To them, I said, the
truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.
- That is certain.
- And now look again, and
see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of
their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to
stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will
suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see
the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then
conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but
that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards
more real existence, he has a clearer vision, -what will be his reply? And you
may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass
and requiring him to name them, -will he not be perplexed? Will he not fancy
that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now
shown to him?
- Far truer.
- And if he is compelled
to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will
make him turn away to take and take in the objects of vision which he can see,
and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are
now being shown to him?
- True, he now.
- And suppose once more,
that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast
until he 's forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be
pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled,
and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called
realities.
- Not all in a moment, he
said.
- He will require to grow
accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows
best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the
objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars
and the spangled heaven; and he will see the sky and the stars by night better
than the sun or the light of the sun by day?
- Certainly.
- Last of 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.
- Certainly.
- He will then proceed to
argue that this is he who gives the season and the years, and is the guardian
of all that is in the visible world, and in a certain way the cause of all
things which he and his fellows have been accustomed to behold?
- Clearly, he said, he
would first see the sun and then reason about him.
- And when he remembered
his old habitation, and the wisdom of the cave and his fellow-prisoners, do you
not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?
- Certainly, he would.
- And if they were in the
habit of conferring honors among themselves on those who were quickest to
observe the passing shadows and to remark which of them went before, and which
followed after, and which were together; and who were therefore best able to
draw conclusions as to the future, do you think that he would care for such
honors and glories, or envy the possessors of them? Would he not say with Homer, “Better to be the poor servant of a poor
master”, and to endure anything, rather than think as they do and live
after their manner?
- Yes, he said, I think
that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and
live in this miserable manner.
- Imagine once more, I
said, such an one coming suddenly out of the sun to be replaced in his old
situation; would he not be certain to have his eyes full of darkness?
- To be sure, he said.
- And if there were a
contest, and he had to compete in measuring the shadows with the prisoners who
had never moved out of the cave, while his sight was still weak, and before his
eyes had become steady (and the time which would be needed to acquire this new
habit of sight might be very considerable) would he not be ridiculous? Men
would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it
was better not even to think of ascending; and if any one tried to loose
another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and
they would put him to death.
SMALL GROUPS, DISCUSSION
1. Would you want to be released from the cave? Why or why not?
2. What is like the cave in our world?
3. How is the way you understand the world, your ideas and beliefs, shaped by
the actions of others?
4. Who has the power to shape your ideas and beliefs? In what ways is this good
and in what ways is it not so good?
5. Are there things you know to be true? What are they, and how do you know
them?
What is Plato trying to tell us in the allegory?
2. QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HARMONY OF THE WORDS, COSMOS, N.8 . CARL SAGAN
1.
What is the explanation offered to the
zodiac signs?
2.
Have been any other cultures –appart from
mediterranean one- which were interested in explaining the celestial
phenomenon?
3.
What kind of knowledge about the sun
elevation over the skyline did the Mayans have?
4.
Think about knowledge and belief in all
cultures and civilizations. Have they always been considered together?
5.
What was Kepler ´s ambition? What dis he want
to explain? Why couldn´t he explain
it?
6.
Which were the steps Kepler used to find
the formulation of his laws about
the motion of the planets?
7.
Was it important the relationship between
Kepler and Tycho Brahe? Which knowledge had Brahe that was essential for
Kepler? Why didn´t Tycho Brahe discover the laws of the movement before Kepler?
8.
How many and which are the steps of the scientific method that appear in the
documentary film?
9.
What is the way Kepler uses maths? Are
Mathematics -as a formal science-
and Physics -as an empirical science- related in any way?
10. Were
Kepler´s religious belief important in his life? Did it have any relation with
his discovery?
3. ABOUT THE QUESTIONS AND BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems,
such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and
language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing
such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance
on rational argument.The word "philosophy"
comes from the Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means
"love of wisdom".
We can
distinguish, as Aristotle did, two kinds of philosophical questions:
1) Questions
about how is the world and the way we know it.
2) Questions
about how to live in the world and about human behaviour
We call Theoretical Philosophy the first
questions about reality and the knowledge of the world, like:
Is the knowledge
possible? In this case, How can I
be sure that I know anything? What is real? Can we state that immaterial
realities exist?
Practical Philosophy concern about human
action and moral behaviour. It answer to questions like:
What should we
do? What means freedom? Are we free? How should we live toguether?
These are
fundamental problems which concern the human being since the origino f this
reflection activity. These are two ways which explore the same reality, the
human being, in his two dimensions: mind and action.
Branches of philosophy
The following branches are the main areas of
study
- Metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and body, substance and accident, events and causation. Traditional branches are cosmology and ontology.
- Epistemology is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, and whether knowledge is possible. Among its central concerns has been the challenge posed by skepticism and the relationships between truth, belief, and justification.
- Ethics, or "moral philosophy", is concerned primarily with the question of the best way to live, and secondarily, concerning the question of whether this question can be answered. The main branches of ethics are meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Meta-ethics concerns the nature of ethical thought, such as the origins of the words good and bad, and origins of other comparative words of various ethical systems, whether there are absolute ethical truths, and how such truths could be known. Normative ethics are more concerned with the questions of how one ought to act, and what the right course of action is. This is where most ethical theories are generated.[8] Lastly, applied ethics go beyond theory and step into real world ethical practice, such as questions of whether or not abortion is correct.[9] Ethics is also associated with the idea of morality, and the two are often interchangeable.
- Logic is the study of valid argument forms. Beginning in the late 19th century, mathematicians such as Gottlob Frege focused on a mathematical treatment of logic, and today the subject of logic has two broad divisions: mathematical logic (formal symbolic logic) and what is now called philosophical logic.
Philosophy has expanded to include specialized
branches of thought:
- Philosophy of language explores the nature, the origins, and the use of language.
- Philosophy of law (more commonly called jurisprudence) explores the varying theories explaining the nature and the interpretations of the law in society.
- Philosophy of mind explores the nature of the mind, and its relationship to the body, and is typified by disputes between dualism and materialism. In recent years there has been increasing similarity between this branch of philosophy and cognitive science.
- Philosophy of religion
- Philosophy of science
- Political philosophy is the study of government and the relationship of individuals (or families and clans) to communities including the state. It includes questions about justice, law, property, and the rights and obligations of the citizen. Politics and ethics are traditionally inter-linked subjects, as both discuss the question of what is good and how people should live.
- Aesthetics deals with beauty, art, enjoyment, sensory-emotional values, perception, and matters of taste and sentiment.
Many academic disciplines also have philosophical
foundations. These include history, logic, law, and mathematics. In addition, a range of disciplines have
emerged to address areas that historically were the subjects of philosophy. These
include anthropology, psychology,
and physics.
