Plato Flashcards
what question does plato focus on?
how is knowledge acquired?
what is the allegory of the cave
- prisoners chained facing wall
- there’s fire in middle, shadows cast on wall
- 1 prisoner unchained bring outside of cave
- first blinded, then starts seeing and understanding things, then finally sees sun
- goes back to cave to tell friends what he saw, prisoners mock him, even think about killing him, so he stays in cage
what is the point of the allegory of the cave
to teach the process of education, which is to know content learning; you need
1) motivation from outside source that eventually has you enjoy learning and delivers
2) conversion of the whole person that changes way of thinking
what does plato use to explain process of education further
metaphor of the divided line
what is the metaphor of the divided line (bigger picture)
forms | intelligence
mathematical objects | thinking
things | belief
images | imagining
What is the lowest level of divided line and what does it explain
images->imagining; we see how something appears
the second lowest level of divided line, what does it explain
things->belief; when we see real things, don’t have all information, so try to fill in blanks to fully understand/make sense of the subject
the second highest level of divided line, what does it explain
mathematical objects->thinking; relate different objects with similar characteristics together for reference; eg. water bottle, pencil case = cylindrical objects PARTICULARS TO UNIVERSALS
the highest level of divided line, what does it explain
forms(true knowledge)->intelligence; the essence of what something is in which it exists, FORMS ARENT ON THIS PLANET
similarities of lowest levels of divided line
do with VISABLE
similarities of highest levels of divided line
intelligible “able to be thought about
what is the soul according to plato
a tripartite element that is part of human form
what are the three parts of the soul
reason, spirit, appetite
what are the three parts of the soul analogous to
a chariot and the 2 horses
what is appetite
desire for physical things
if appetite controlled soul, what would happen
push elf to do what you want all the time
what is the bad horse symbolic of
appetite
what is spirit
ACTION/drive towards something
if spirit controlled the soul, what would happen
would constantly work toward something without a goal/just reactive
what is the good horse symbolic of
spirit
what is reason
allows us to be goal-oriented
if reason controlled the soul, what would happen
allows spirit and appetite to be in check, guide the two AND have a goal/knowledge AKA forms
what is the charioteer symbolic of
reason
how does the soul relate to the real world, in plato’s mind
the ideal city
