Plato - Life and The Parable of The Cave Flashcards
When was he born?
Life
427 BC
Where was he born?
Life
Athens
What sort of family was he born into?
Life
Aristocratic
Who were his brothers? Who was the oldest?
Life
Glaucon and Adeimantus
Glaucon was the oldest.
Who did Glaucon know well, and what did he say to Glaucon?
Life
Socrates, ‘The best and most just man is happiest, and that man is king of himself.’
Who plays an important role in the Republic?
Life
Adeimantus
Who was Socrates?
Life
Plato’s great friend and philosopher. One of the first people to want a democracy over an oligarchy.
When and why was Socrates put to death and what did he say at his trial?
Life
399 BC because of treason.
‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’
What was Plato’s early education for?
Life
To train him to become a politician.
What was Athens fighting for most of Plato’s life?
Life
The Peloponnesian war.
What was Plato’s first occupation and how long did he do it for?
Life
A soldier for three campaigns.
What did Plato learn from the Pythagorean philosophers?
Life
About mathematics and reality. He learnt that this world is just a reflection of the real world.
Which brothers fought with him in these campaigns?
Life
Neither of them.
When was Athens in political turmoil?
Life
After the death of General Pericles.
Why did Plato return to Athens?
Life
To teach its leading young men to be democratic rulers. By the time he had returned, he was already a respected philosopher.
Why did Plato reject oligarchy?
Life
Because it lead to bloodshed.
Why did Plato found the Academy?
Life
To teach the sons of leading Athenian families.
What did Plato argue about democracy?
Life
It should mean many well educated people leading a ruling wisely.
What was the Academy’s purpose?
Life
To make people think and philosophise what is true.
Who did Plato teach and where?
Life
King Dionysius’s son in Syracuse, Sicily.
Was his teaching job a success?
Life
No, the son hated maths, and didn’t think it would be useful in the future.
Why did Plato write the Republic?
Life
To teach his pupils at his new academy.
How did his books use dialogue and why?
Life
To teach his ideas, making them more relatable. Used stories, allegories and parables.
When did Plato die?
Life
347 BC
What is he best known for doing?
Life
Helping form the foundation of Western Philosophy.
Where is the Parable of the Cave found?
Parable of the Cave
In the Republic.
Where is the parable set?
Parable of the Cave
In an underground cave.
Who have been chained together?
Parable of the Cave
Prisoners.
What can the prisoners only see?
Parable of the Cave
The back of the wall, the shadows of objects.
How are the shadows made?
Parable of the Cave
There is a fire behind the actual objects, making the shadow.
What happens first?
Parable of the Cave
The prisoners chains are removed, and he is forced to turn around.
Where does he first go?
Parable of the Cave
Up a steep path to the entrance of the cave.
What is his initial reaction to the sunlight?
Parable of the Cave
He finds it painful (his eyes).
What happens when his eyes have adjusted?
Parable of the Cave
He looks into the sun itself and is pleased.
After he returns back to the cave, what do the prisoners think?
Parable of the Cave
His journey has been a waste of time.
What happens when the ex-prisoner tries to teach them?
Parable of the Cave
They try to kill him.
‘Where prisoners have been chained together.’
What do the prisoners represent?
Parable of the Cave
Ordinary people; people who are naïve and ignorant.
‘Where prisoners have been chained together.’
What do the chains represent?
Parable of the Cave
Until we see The Good, we are not free.
‘What they see are the shadows of objects’.
What do the shadows of objects represent?
Parable of the Cave
We are led to believe this is the real world.
People see shadows before they start thinking for themselves (5 senses).
‘He makes his way up a steep path to the entrance of the cave’.
What does the word ‘steep’ represent?
Parable of the Cave
The journey is arduous and challenging.
‘At first his eyes find the sunlight painful.’
What does the word ‘painful’ represent?
Parable of the Cave
The journey is hard and uncomfortable, not easy.
‘He looks into the sun itself.’
What does the sun represent?
Parable of the Cave
The truth / ultimate reality
‘The Good’.
‘When the ex-prisoner attempts to teach them, they try to kill him.’
Why do they try to kill him?
Parable of the Cave
The feel threatened, as many people don’t want to make that journey, and it has many risks if undertook.
When would a journey like this start?
Parable of the Cave
When you open your eyes and start thinking for yourself.
