Plato Points Flashcards
“traumatic experience that the prisoner undergoes in the allegory of the cave”
Author describes the Allegory of the Cave to be a negative experience in relation to de interpellation (Lacan saying the “Other” is the unconscious) (L5)
“things can be what they are and at the same time be caught up in processes of becoming, implying that they are not what they are”
Anything under question which has already been proven sits in a state of unsureness and therefore can no longer technically be identified by its previously given label. (mirror stage points) (L7)
“Plato’s ‘dialectical logic’—almost certainly his greatest contribution to philosophy—captures what is also unsettling about the object of knowledge. “
Plato’s “great idea” expresses how anxiety inducing the “sea of becoming” is and how hard it is to identify oneself when surrounded by constant question. (I am thinking quote) (L8)
“The shadows on the cave wall in Plato’s allegory, for instance, are illusionary; they symbolize the everyday confusions we encounter”
The shadows moralize the ideas behind constant questioning of reality and what it believed to be “true” or “false” in a socially accepted set of eyes. (Link to L7)
“The difficulty stems, at some level, from the tendency to forget that ‘[w]hat is familiar and well known as such is not really known for the very reason that it is familiar and well known’
It is hard to unlearn a concept that has been drilled into ones mind since childhood. Definition of de interpellation. (Connect to language and simple speech by symbols aka logos/labeling) (L4)
“I vent misplaced convictions, I utter non-evidential claims, and I deceive myself and others”
Author emphasizes the concept that without an actual confirmation that something is the way it is, false information may be spread day by day all while just only being socially accepted, not “universally.” (Link to L1 and L6)
“the justification of the ‘noble lie’ offends us”
People don’t like to be told that they’re wrong. Once something has been defined, they would much rather just leave it that way and move forward. (Link to L1)
“His argument, in a nutshell, is that democracy—what we today might appropriately identify as liberalism (and neo-liberalism)— oscillates between anarchy and tyranny owing to the excessive freedom, individualism and short-term gain it encourages.”
Plato sees democracy as teetering between an abuse of power and public vengeance in order to define freedom amongst a manageable civilization. (realizing freedom through thinking and the realization of existence and its separation of body with the universe) (L11)
“That makes democracy inherently impetuous, lacking competent leaders with the requisite virtues and skills to sustain the common good over the long term.”
Plato does not see as the basis of peoples as competent enough to “rule” over a group of people because of their set virtues and skills lacking. (L9)
“What Plato sees in democracy, then, is what we have lived for quite some time now: a distorted, one-sided liberty that is at once the cause and the symptom of social pathologies—which cannot be helpful in facilitating the capacity to keep one eye on the big picture and the other on the exigencies of daily life; to discern, ultimately for Plato, the form of the good in all things.”
Plato ultimately sees the universe as part of the greater good and therefore does not believe that one individual can be a positive enough role model from day to day looking for the best way to solve daily tasks and conflicts. (Oppose Lacan’s powerful structuralism but agree on the autonomy of subjects) (L2)
“So, we soldier on, marshalling euphemisms such as ‘competition’, ‘enterprise’ and ‘choice’ to cover over what is social violence.’
Politics completely ignores the reality of certain concepts as humans have labeled them a more positive thing than what the actually represent. (Connect to Lacan’s symbolism of desire) (also compare to the unconscious desires which are avoided by the ego)(signifiers defining behaviors) (L3 and L9)
