Uncle Emanuel Watkins
01-21-2013, 05:58 PM
In Plato's allegory of the cave, he spoke of all the world of Greece living in a dark cave, himself included, with all of them quite content in being deceived into believing that the shadows being projected upon the walls were made up of a real substance.
He then spoke of a stranger entering from above descending to grab a hold of him to pull him up out of the cave against his nature, struggling mightily, encouraging him after exiting outside to quit sheltering his face with his hands, and then pointing his attention up towards a light in the sky.
In other words, Plato is saying here that Socrates showed him the true light. Not only that, but in all the world of Greece, Socrates and he were the only ones who saw this light clearly as he didn't mention anything about Aristotle or any other also seeing this light.
After seeing what was the true source of light, Plato then went back down into the cave to understand how the shadows the people believed weren't made up of a substance. Instead, figurines were being manipulated behind lit candles to project shadows, a false reality, upon the walls of the cave.
In order words, Plato is describing an animation. As lit candles were being utilized to fool the people into remaining in the cave and from ever bettering themselves by rising up to leave towards the true light, someone mysterious behind the scenes had to be manipulating those candles.
Aristotle was later brought to trial by these deceivers, wasn't he, as he wasn't as careful as Plato in his later reasonings?
Figure if Plato wasn't addressing any living person in the Greek world during this time when he was writing this allegory, then who? I would think he is addressing future generations. As a writer of fiction, Plato never concluded. Instead, he always had for his main idea the two dialectics developed by Socrates and himself. It must have been really lonely for him as he didn't expect anyone living during his time to understand the significance in his writings, Aristotle included. I say Aristotle didn't fully understand Plato because of the way the student never bothered to finish any of his works to form.
On another level, Plato utilized his allegory of the cave to describe how one could reduce in their reasoning the question of what is light to a formal level doing so sufficiently to understand that it comes from the sun. Indeed, he wrote on many levels. But these many levels he wrote on were intended to shield him from the backwards people of Greece, these being the same ones who Democratically sentenced Socrates to either having to leave Greece or putting himself to death by drinking poison.
Most people are still living in a cave today. They still are being deceived by the shadows that our news media are casting on the walls. They don't see the true light.
He then spoke of a stranger entering from above descending to grab a hold of him to pull him up out of the cave against his nature, struggling mightily, encouraging him after exiting outside to quit sheltering his face with his hands, and then pointing his attention up towards a light in the sky.
In other words, Plato is saying here that Socrates showed him the true light. Not only that, but in all the world of Greece, Socrates and he were the only ones who saw this light clearly as he didn't mention anything about Aristotle or any other also seeing this light.
After seeing what was the true source of light, Plato then went back down into the cave to understand how the shadows the people believed weren't made up of a substance. Instead, figurines were being manipulated behind lit candles to project shadows, a false reality, upon the walls of the cave.
In order words, Plato is describing an animation. As lit candles were being utilized to fool the people into remaining in the cave and from ever bettering themselves by rising up to leave towards the true light, someone mysterious behind the scenes had to be manipulating those candles.
Aristotle was later brought to trial by these deceivers, wasn't he, as he wasn't as careful as Plato in his later reasonings?
Figure if Plato wasn't addressing any living person in the Greek world during this time when he was writing this allegory, then who? I would think he is addressing future generations. As a writer of fiction, Plato never concluded. Instead, he always had for his main idea the two dialectics developed by Socrates and himself. It must have been really lonely for him as he didn't expect anyone living during his time to understand the significance in his writings, Aristotle included. I say Aristotle didn't fully understand Plato because of the way the student never bothered to finish any of his works to form.
On another level, Plato utilized his allegory of the cave to describe how one could reduce in their reasoning the question of what is light to a formal level doing so sufficiently to understand that it comes from the sun. Indeed, he wrote on many levels. But these many levels he wrote on were intended to shield him from the backwards people of Greece, these being the same ones who Democratically sentenced Socrates to either having to leave Greece or putting himself to death by drinking poison.
Most people are still living in a cave today. They still are being deceived by the shadows that our news media are casting on the walls. They don't see the true light.