Post a contribution of at least 200 words.
Plato’s Republic:
1. At the very outset of the Allegory of the Cave, Socrates states that he will discuss “the effect of education and of the lack of it” (1132; 514a). In what sense, then, is the Allegory essentially about education?
2. Pick one or more of the following elements of the Allegory: The cave, the prisoners, the shadows, the puppets, the escaped prisoner, the ascent to the sunlight, the objects above in the world, the sun, the prisoner finding himself initially blinded by the sun, and the escaped prisoner’s return to the cave where the other prisoners scorn him. Explain the metaphorical meaning behind these parts of the story for Plato’s metaphysical philosophy.
3. After the Allegory, Socrates refers to “the song that dialectic sings” (1147; 532a). What does Plato mean by “dialectic”? And how is this theme connected to the Symposium’s Ladder of Love?
4. What does it mean to say that Plato believes in a “two-world metaphysics”? Does two-world metaphysics seem plausible or convincing to you? Why or why not? Do people today believe in the existence of two worlds?
Questions about Plato’s Phaedrus:
Plato’s Phaedrus:
1. Plato says, “To describe what the soul actually is would require a very long account, altogether a god in every way; but to say what it is like is humanly possible and takes less time” (524; 246a). What difference is Plato pointing to between an account a god could give and what is “humanly possible”?
2. Re-read the so-called Allegory or Metaphor of the Chariot (see pp. 524, 530-531). Outline the three elements of this tripartite (three-part) conception of the human soul, and give an interpretation of what these elements metaphorically represent or symbolize.
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