Platos Republic

[heccubusiv]

I am awful at Philosophy more of an organic chemistry and physical chemistry guy and I need to pass my philosophy class so I can go to grad school. I am not sure if anyone wants or can help but according to Socrates I am not really sure what the term sophositry is and how it applies to todays culture. And about the story of the cave... if you read the book you would understand. Also a few other questions... if anyone wants to help please do because I am really bad at it and really need to get a passing grade. Am not looking for direct answers just looking for some direction because I am taking the class online and cannot ask for help. thanks in advance

[wilbjammin]

The Alegory of a Plato's cave is simple.

You're happy while you live in the darkness - this is ignorance.

Then you emerge into the light - you are scared, but you are becoming enlightened.

You get used to it, it becomes part of you, then you return to the cave. You are stuck in a world of ignorance. Of course, then, you want to help enlighten everyone else... but the only way they can be enlightened is to go out and see that light for themselves.

This is how it is for all of us. We can be told over and over how to emerge from ignorance, but the only way we can do that is to step out on our own and experience that ourselves.

[phukraut]

on the most positive side sophistry is the art of arguing convincingly.

the the worst side sophistry is the use of cleverly designed logical fallacies and charisma in order win an argument.

the sophists are despicable in at least one sense to socrates/plato: they are not interested in furthering/uncovering true knowledge. they just argue because it furthers their careers.

[John Henry]

I thought Sophositry was a type of medicine you shove up your ass... no, wait, that's homeopathy.

Seriously, if you want to know about Plato, pm SecretMethod70. I tried to outbluff him on Plato in tfp3 and lost.

[TheFirstDuffMan]

Read a summary of what you want to know about Platonism then watch the Matrix trilogy. No... I'm serious.

[phukraut]

the matrix is flexible enough that you can get lots of different philosophies from it. it's good advice!

[bermuDa]

John Henry: i thought homeopathy was fighting poison with poison... maybe you're thinking of suppositories?

Anyways, I had to write a page of notes analyzing the Allegory of the Cave and how it relates to authentic experience and how it relates to the learning process. Dunno how much it'll help but here it is

People chained in a cave with light behind them but unable to move their heads, so all they see is shadow movement. This was the setting for Socrate’s Allegory of the cave (really, attributing it to Plato is like giving a stenographer credit for an attorney’s closing statements). If this was all the people knew, and could speak with one another; they might believe the shadows were the things themselves, and if there was an echo, they might think the voices came from the shadows themselves.

If one was freed and slowly acclimated to the light, he’d at first believe his old reality was more true than their new one. Upon exposure to the sun, the freed prisoner (of the mind) would see that it was the light that cast the shadows, and defined his previous existence. Now that he’s accepted his new reality, Socrate asks, wouldn’t he then pity the others that are still living in darkness, and want to reveal the truth to them? But on returning to the shadows, his eyes would take time to readjust to the dark, and his comrades would think he’s lost vision (his mind, respect for reality, whatever due to his venture, and forbid others from leaving they cave (the cave being symbolic of their belief structure, leaving being synonymous with following the new teachings).

Socrates compares the cave to the world of sight. The fire represents the sun which exposes things to our sight, and defines the world around us in terms of vision. He then compares the same notion to the intellectual sphere (illustrated in his previous argument, ‘the divided line’), where once the soul sees the light it cannot let go of it, even if the body is returned to the darkness. Since the man came to the conclusion about the light through his own musing, Socrates claims that the capacity for learning is innate, one must simply put for effort to seek it (search for the inner light, ie the truth). Legislators who are to ascend into the light must descend back into and adjust to the darkness every now and then so he can better know the plight and mindset of his constituents; for he will not only see the shadows, he will know what they represent.