Thang Xuan Nguyen
Phil 100 – Intro Philosophy
Heusser, Will
May 2, 2004
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Student Presentation
“Plato
was born to an aristocratic family in Athens. His father, Ariston, was believed
to have descended from the early kings of Athens. Perictione, his mother, was
distantly related to the 6th- century BC lawmaker Solon. When Plato was a
child, his father died, and his mother married Pyrilampes, who was an associate
of the statesman Pericles. As a young
man Plato had political ambitions, but he became disillusioned by the political
leadership in Athens. He eventually became a disciple of Socrates, accepting
his basic philosophy and dialectical style of debate: the pursuit of truth
through questions, answers, and additional questions. Plato witnessed the death
of Socrates at the hands of the Athenian democracy in 399 BC. Perhaps fearing
for his own safety, he left Athens temporarily and traveled to Italy, Sicily,
and Egypt. In 387 Plato founded the
Academy in Athens, the institution often described as the first European
university. It provided a comprehensive curriculum, including such subjects as
astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Aristotle
was the Academy's most prominent student.
Pursuing an opportunity to combine philosophy and practical politics,
Plato went to Sicily in 367 to tutor the new ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius the
Younger, in the art of philosophical rule. The experiment failed. Plato made
another trip to Syracuse in 361, but again his engagement in Sicilian affairs
met with little success. The concluding years of his life were spent lecturing
at the Academy and writing. He died at about the age of 80 in Athens in 348 or
347 BC. “[1]
“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 a utopian blueprint, The
Republic is dedicated toward a discussion of the education required
of a Philosopher-King.”[3]
It is so surprising to me how someone thousands of years
ago have already questioned his existence, or the reality of his world. Overall I find Pluto’s intellectual story
very inspiring and at the same time, depressing. It gives hope in the sense that progress
towards enlightenment can be achieved through intellectual inquiry and
experience. The story warns us not to
simply accept the world we live in, that it is possible that it is merely the
illusions. I can see this story true in
different times of human modern history.
The people living under the Hitler regime probably believed they were
living in the real world and with their real values. They didn’t know how their mindset was
screwed by their environment. This is
not to say that we are some how better off than they were, at least not philosophically. How are we sure that we are not blinded by
some unknown factor?
The
problem I have is that Plato advocates an absolute truth, let alone that it can
be attained. But how can we be so sure that the truth we see is the absolute
one, if it exists. We now have to live
in constant paranoia, never knowing what is the reality and what is the
illusion of it. I guess we can always
try to reach this point of enlightenment where we get to see the truth, where
we won’t be debating over shadows. We can
always try. But when do we know we have
progress? Or will we ever? The man in the theatre can try to get himself
away from thinking that the movie was reality – he may succeed. He may walk out the theatre and live the real
life. But what if that “real life” was
another movie? A movie so subtle and
lifelike that he never detects to be another illusion. He only thinks he knows the truth. That’s the depressing part.