The cave - Sheet1

Question 1

Who was Socrates?

Answer 1

He was an ancient Greek Philosopher who was a soldier, he also taught Plato

Question 2

Who was Plato?

Answer 2

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher who was the student of Socrates and tutor of Aristotle

Question 3

What was Plato’s most famous book which contained the analogy of the cave?

Answer 3

The Republic, use for reference in answers

Question 4

What was Plato’s school called?

Answer 4

The Academy which Aristotle attended

Question 5

What did Plato’s analogy of the cave emphasise?

Answer 5

The importance of questioning everything like a philosopher does and the difference between the real spiritual world and unreal physical world

Question 6

What does the cave represent in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 6

The virtual/unreal world that unquestioning people live in

Question 7

What do the prisoners mean in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 7

The people who live in the virtual/unreal world

Question 8

What do the shadows represent in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 8

They represent what the prisoners believe to be real in the unreal world

Question 9

What does the outside world represent in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 9

It represents the real world that is outside of the virtual (cave) world

Question 10

What does the Sun mean in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 10

It represents enlightenment and goodness in the real world

Question 11

What does the prisoners cave escape represent in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 11

He represents the philosopher who opens his mind and begins to explore the real world

Question 12

What does the return to the prisoners represent in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 12

It shows what happens when the philosopher returns to the real world but both sets of people believe the world they have seen to be true

Question 13

When the prisoner escapes the cave what happens and what does it mean?

Answer 13

He is convinced that this new outside world is real and what Plato means here is that he is questioning what he knows and is believing the new things he sees

Question 14

What is Empirical knowledge and who uses it in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 14

Empirical knowledge is knowledge by using your senses e.g. sight and sound. The prisoners use it exclusively and and Plato shows how this is flawed by not showing “reality”

Question 15

What is Priori knowledge and who uses it in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 15

It is the philosophical understanding of the truth by opening your mind. It is used by the escapee prisoner that breaks through the unreal world and sees reasoning and reality

Question 16

What was Socrates’ influence on Plato for the analogy of the cave?

Answer 16

Plato believed that most Athenians did not see reality for what it is, they represent the prisoners for not understanding Socrates or the real world

Question 17

A criticism of the cave is that Plato’s argument is absolute, what does this mean?

Answer 17

It means there is no middle ground and that the prisoners or the escapee did not reason, both sides did not think about what actually could be real and rejected any other idea

Question 18

A criticism of the cave is that everyone in the story believes their world is real and that they are correct, why is this?

Answer 18

There is no proof that says which world could be wrong or right, who is correct? (could it just be dreams?)