Plato's Forms

I was thinking that further clarification of Plato's works and ideas would be helpful for sorting out the reading of Book VII of The Republic (the Allegory of the Cave is in the beginning.). Maybe that would help with the translation of the Allegory and the interpretation of Plato's beliefs.

Reading the Introduction of The Republic will help you learn about Plato himself and about his proposal for an ideal society - utopia. You may find it on the Internet Classics Archive site under works by Plato - The Republic. Plato believes that it is the responsibility of the State to educate and train the best minds to become the rulers of society. Plato established the Academy (the first university) in a grove of olive trees to carry on that education. In the Academy, the State becomes the director of those studies and gives honor to them. So, at age ten, students are admitted to the Academy where they study music and gymnastics. Those who show particular promise rise to the next level and so on. A philosopher king is chosen from the students who are 50 years old. Only those who are wise should rule the State.

Plato distinguished between philosophy and science - true knowledge and science. He believed that the realm of ideas has a hierarchy: what is innate and unchanged (the intellect) and what changes (the observed). There are certain ideas (like universal truths, logic, and mathematics) that never change; these are the highest ideas. Then there are ideas that are observed and learned; these are in the lower tier of the hierarchy. Maybe this diagram will help:

Metaphysics

Epistemology (knowledge)

Level One

universal truths (love, justice,virtue)

Mathematics

Logic

knowledge

understanding

Level Two

visible objects

reflections of objects

images

beliefs

opinions

This was quite a remarkable idea, proposed almost 2,400 years ago!

In the beginning of Book VII, Plato uses an allegory to explain the dilemma of mankind: he is trapped in a cave where the only images he is able to see - and what he believes are true reflections of objects - are projected on the cave wall. He has no reason to believe otherwise because he is trapped, chained, in the cave. When he is taken out of the cave into the light, he becomes aware of true knowledge (what we call enlightenment). At first he is unwilling; in fact, the light hurts his eyes and he is afraid. But after a while he embraces the truth. He also goes back to the cave to help his fellow man. They are none too willing to accept this crazy enlightened person; they reject him and turn away. But the enlightened man persists in helping the others to see the truth. In fact, according to Plato, it is the responsibility of the enlightened one to help others to come to the truth.

The following You Tube video will help with the explanation of this concept. (The first part of the lecture is on Plato.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj8hpBRwYrE&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLAB9F02E1DA42A0CF

Ms. Ambrose