Plato 429-347 B.C.

1. Allegory of the cave & The Apology of Socrates Plato 429-347 B.C.

2. His Life: Some of His Works: Wealthy family Traveled to Egypt & Italy, studied with Pythagoras Founded the Academy Philosopher Writer Teacher Republic Phaedrus Timaeus (study of cosmological speculation) Parmenides (theory of forms) Theaetetus (the problem of knowledge) Laws (treatment of government) Plato The masterpiece among the middle dialogues is Plato's Politeia (Republic). It begins with a Socratic conversation about the nature of justice but proceeds directly to an extended discussion of the virtues (Gk. areth [aret�]) of justice (Gk. dikaiwsunh [dikai�sun�]), wisdom (Gk. sofia [soph�a]), courage (Gk. andreia [andreia]), and moderation (Gk. swfrosunh [sophros�n�]) as they appear both in individual human beings and in society as a whole. This plan for the ideal society or person requires detailed accounts of human knowledge and of the kind of educational program by which it may be achieved by men and women alike, captured in a powerful image of the possibilities for human life in the allegory of the cave. The dialogue concludes with a review of various forms of government, an explicit description of the ideal state, in which only philosophers are fit to rule, and an attempt to show that justice is better than injustice. Among the other dialogues of this period are Plato's treatments of human emotion in general and of love in particular in the FaidroV (Phaedrus) and Sumposion (Symposium). The masterpiece among the middle dialogues is Plato's Politeia (Republic). It begins with a Socratic conversation about the nature of justice but proceeds directly to an extended discussion of the virtues (Gk. areth [aret�]) of justice (Gk. dikaiwsunh [dikai�sun�]), wisdom (Gk. sofia [soph�a]), courage (Gk. andreia [andreia]), and moderation (Gk. swfrosunh [sophros�n�]) as they appear both in individual human beings and in society as a whole. This plan for the ideal society or person requires detailed accounts of human knowledge and of the kind of educational program by which it may be achieved by men and women alike, captured in a powerful image of the possibilities for human life in the allegory of the cave. The dialogue concludes with a review of various forms of government, an explicit description of the ideal state, in which only philosophers are fit to rule, and an attempt to show that justice is better than injustice. Among the other dialogues of this period are Plato's treatments of human emotion in general and of love in particular in the FaidroV (Phaedrus) and Sumposion (Symposium).

3. Boys � Literature, music, mathematics 17 yrs. old (Best) � 2-3 years, Intensive physical and military training 20 yrs. old (Best) � 10 years, advanced math 30 yrs. old (best) � 5 years, dialectic 35 yrs. old � now philosophers- Must accept junior positions in military and political life 50 years old � philosopher-ruler now fully formed Plato�s Academy

4. The Apology of Socrates Dramatic form (speaks directly to the reader) Philosophic dialogue Definition and defense of his life and work Martyr by choice Socrates Plato�s teacher and mentor Socratic method (dialectic or philosophic dialogues) Disapproved of Sophists (rhetoric)

5. A sustained metaphor continued through whole sentences or even through a whole discourse. Allegory Examples The most obvious use of allegory is work-length narratives such as the medieval Everyman or Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Quintilian labels allegory what is elsewhere called a "conceit": an extended metaphor: The ship of state has sailed through rougher storms than the tempest of these lobbyists. Allegory also occurs when an allusion is made with no introductory explanation and the speaker trusts the audience to make the connection, as in the following example, where reference is made to the historic landing of a craft on the moon, but no direct connection is made to the more mundane application of this allusion: Well, the Eagle has landed. I thought you'd never make partner in the firm. Examples The most obvious use of allegory is work-length narratives such as the medieval Everyman or Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Quintilian labels allegory what is elsewhere called a "conceit": an extended metaphor: The ship of state has sailed through rougher storms than the tempest of these lobbyists. Allegory also occurs when an allusion is made with no introductory explanation and the speaker trusts the audience to make the connection, as in the following example, where reference is made to the historic landing of a craft on the moon, but no direct connection is made to the more mundane application of this allusion:

6. Class Discussion Group 1 � Page 2 of handout- what is the truth for the prisoners and what is problem the prisoner faces/experiences when he leaves the cave? Group 2 � Page 3 of handout- what is Socrates saying about the world of intellect and the world of shadows in this section? Group 3 � Page 4 of handout- explain Socrates position on knowledge and the soul�also, explain the 2 kinds of causes. Group 4 � Pages 5 & 6 of handout- describe Socrates view of what a minister of State should be like and how they should serve the State. ALL Groups � Do you agree or disagree with Socrates/Plato�s view of the philosopher/ruler? ���The Allegory of the Cave and the Divided Line: Far and away the most influential passage in Western philosophy ever written is Plato's discussion of the prisoners of the cave and his abstract presentation of the divided line. For Plato, human beings live in a world of visible and intelligible things. The visible world is what surrounds us: what we see, what we hear, what we experience; this visible world is a world of change and uncertainty. The intelligible world is made up of the unchanging products of human reason: anything arising from reason alone, such as abstract definitions or mathematics, makes up this intelligible world, which is the world of reality. The intelligible world contains the eternal "Forms" (in Greek, idea ) of things; the visible world is the imperfect and changing manifestation in this world of these unchanging forms. For example, the "Form" or "Idea" of a horse is intelligible, abstract, and applies to all horses; this Form never changes, even though horses vary wildly among themselves�the Form of a horse would never change even if every horse in the world were to vanish. An individual horse is a physical, changing object that can easily cease to be a horse (if, for instance, it's dropped out of a fifty story building); the Form of a horse, or "horseness," never changes. As a physical object, a horse only makes sense in that it can be referred to the "Form" or "Idea" of horseness. ���Plato imagines these two worlds, the sensible world and the intelligible world, as existing on a line that can be divided in the middle: the lower part of the line consists of the visible world and the upper part of the line makes up the intelligible world. Each half of the line relates to a certain type of knowledge: of the visible world, we can only have opinion (in Greek: doxa); of the intelligible world we achieve "knowledge" (in Greek, epistem�). Each of these divisions can also be divided in two. The visible or changing world can be divided into a lower region, "illusion," which is made up of shadows, reflections, paintings, poetry, etc., and an upper region, "belief," which refers to any kind of knowledge of things that change, such as individual horses. "Belief" may be true some or most of the time but occasionally is wrong (since things in the visible world change); belief is practical and may serve as a relatively reliable guide to life but doesn't really involve thinking things out to the point of certainty. The upper region can be divided into, on the lower end, "reason," which is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulates be accepted without question, and "intelligence," which is the knowledge of the highest and most abstract categories of things, an understanding of the ultimate good http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PLATO.HTM ���The Allegory of the Cave and the Divided Line: Far and away the most influential passage in Western philosophy ever written is Plato's discussion of the prisoners of the cave and his abstract presentation of the divided line. For Plato, human beings live in a world of visible and intelligible things. The visible world is what surrounds us: what we see, what we hear, what we experience; this visible world is a world of change and uncertainty. The intelligible world is made up of the unchanging products of human reason: anything arising from reason alone, such as abstract definitions or mathematics, makes up this intelligible world, which is the world of reality. The intelligible world contains the eternal "Forms" (in Greek, idea ) of things; the visible world is the imperfect and changing manifestation in this world of these unchanging forms. For example, the "Form" or "Idea" of a horse is intelligible, abstract, and applies to all horses; this Form never changes, even though horses vary wildly among themselves�the Form of a horse would never change even if every horse in the world were to vanish. An individual horse is a physical, changing object that can easily cease to be a horse (if, for instance, it's dropped out of a fifty story building); the Form of a horse, or "horseness," never changes. As a physical object, a horse only makes sense in that it can be referred to the "Form" or "Idea" of horseness. ���Plato imagines these two worlds, the sensible world and the intelligible world, as existing on a line that can be divided in the middle: the lower part of the line consists of the visible world and the upper part of the line makes up the intelligible world. Each half of the line relates to a certain type of knowledge: of the visible world, we can only have opinion (in Greek: doxa); of the intelligible world we achieve "knowledge" (in Greek, epistem�). Each of these divisions can also be divided in two. The visible or changing world can be divided into a lower region, "illusion," which is made up of shadows, reflections, paintings, poetry, etc., and an upper region, "belief," which refers to any kind of knowledge of things that change, such as individual horses. "Belief" may be true some or most of the time but occasionally is wrong (since things in the visible world change); belief is practical and may serve as a relatively reliable guide to life but doesn't really involve thinking things out to the point of certainty. The upper region can be divided into, on the lower end, "reason," which is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulates be accepted without question, and "intelligence," which is the knowledge of the highest and most abstract categories of things, an understanding of the ultimate good http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PLATO.HTM

7. Allegory of the Cave