Platos Theory of Knowledge Essay - 918 Words

Platos Theory of Knowledge Platos Theory of Knowledge is very interesting. He expresses this theory with three approaches: his allegory of The Cave, his metaphor of the Divided Line and his doctrine The Forms. Each theory is interconnected; one could not be without the other. Here we will explore how one relates to the other. In The Cave, Plato describes a vision of shackled prisoners seated in a dark cave facing the wall. Chained also by their necks, the prisoners can only look forward and see only shadows, These shadows are produced by men, with shapes of objects or men, walking in front of a fire behind the prisoners. Plato states that for the prisoners, reality is only the mere shadows thrown onto the wall.†¦show more content†¦Plato considered shadows, art and poetry, especially rhetoric, deceptive illusions, what you see is not necessarily what you get. With poetry and rhetoric you may be able to read the words but you may not understand the real meaning. For example, take, again, the shadow. If you know a shadow is something real then you are beyond the state of imagination which implies that a person is unaware of observation and amounts to illusion and ignorance. Belief is the next stage of developing knowledge. Plato goes with the idea that seeing really is not always believin g we have a strong conviction for what we see but not with absolute certainty. This stage is more advanced than imagining because its based more firmly on reality. But just because we can actually see the object and not just its shadow doesnt mean we know all there is to know about the object. In the next stage, Thinking, we leave the visible world and move into the intelligible world which, Plato claims, is seen mostly in scientists. It stands for the power of the mind to take properties from a visible object and applying them. Thinking is the visible object but also the hypotheses, A truth which is taken as self-evident but which depends upon some higher truth. Plato wants us to see all things as they really are so we can see that all is inter-connected. ButShow MoreRelatedPlatos Theory of Knowledge2524 Words   |  11 PagesPlatos Theory of Knowledge What appears to be so to me is true for me, and what appears to be so to you is true for you. It follows that everyone’s perceptions are equally true. This of course is the extreme form of relativism that Protagoras claims when he asserts that man is the measure of all things in regards to truth. It seems that if all perceptions (e.g. judgments and beliefs) are equally true, there can be no room for expertise. But what is Protagoras to say of our natural inclination thatRead MoreEssay on Platos Theory of Knowledge2731 Words   |  11 Pagesâ€Å"If the truth of all things always existed in the soul, then the soul is immortal† (The Philosophical Journey 89). This states that since the soul has all knowledge integrated, one recollects this knowledge through situations in an individual’s life and use one’s reasoning. With the dialogues of the Meno and Phaedo, Plato discusses the ideas of recollection and immortality of the soul in general. As well, the Repu blic, through the three different situations shown, Plato shows the ideas of the formsRead MorePlatos Theory of Human Knowledge Essay662 Words   |  3 PagesPlatos Theory of Human Knowledge Plato contended that all true knowledge is recollection. He stated that we all have innate knowledge that tells us about the things we experience in our world. This knowledge, Plato believed, was gained when the soul resided in the invisible realm, the realm of The Forms and The Good. Platos theory of The Forms argued that everything in the natural world is representative of the ideal of that form. For example, a table is representative of the ideal formRead MoreSocratic Creed vs. Platos Theory of Knowledge2206 Words   |  9 PagesTruths and Ideas Allyson Hansen Introduction to Philosophy Mark Eleveld 13 March, 2013 Allyson Hansen Mark Eleveld Introduction to Philosophy 13 March, 2013 The Synonymy of Truths and Ideas A modern philosopher studies â€Å"the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence† according to the Free Online Dictionary and many Americans. However, if you asked a philosopher to define the word ‘philosopher,’ he or she might say that a philosopher is a lover of wisdom. The word philosophy itself is derivedRead MoreWeaknesses Of Plato1262 Words   |  6 Pagesthe possibility for one’s mind to uncover knowledge. Knowing one can obtain knowledge motivates the mind to gain more knowledge. Plato explains the theory of recollection by first questioning what virtue is, then demonstrating the process through the questioning of a slave boy. Although a few weaknesses present themselves in Plato’s argument, Plato presents a valid theory on how our minds can obtain knowledge. This paper focuses on exploring Plato’s theory of recollection by examining the strengthsRead MoreThe Main Elements Of Plato s Cave1152 Words   |  5 Pagesof lif e is when men are afraid of the light† – Plato In this paper the main elements of Plato’s cave will be described along with a short explanation of Plato’s theory of forms, which is what the cave allegory is attempting to address. A brief description of the plot of the movie â€Å"The Island â€Å"will follow. This will be followed by an explanation of how the movie correlates to the elements of Plato’s cave. Finally, the conclusion will discuss what Plato was hoping to achieve with the cave allegoryRead MorePlatos View in Human Knowledge Essay examples1392 Words   |  6 PagesPlatos View in Human Knowledge Plato presents three different views about knowledge in Meno, Republic, and Theaetetus. In Menos case, Plato believes knowledge as something innate in us when we are born; in his later view, in Republic, Plato believes we perceive things and gain knowledge; and from the last view, in Theaetus, Plato believes knowledge is the combination of a true opinion and a rational opinion. Strangely enough, Platos views in Meno, Republic, and Theaetetus are similar,Read MoreHume vs. Plato on Knowledge: A Comparative Analysis1541 Words   |  6 PagesHume vs. Plato on Knowledge Introduction Platos ideas on knowledge represent, perhaps, the most foundational and influential attempt to establish the boundaries of what can be known. His ideas have had an immense influence on successive philosophers as well as Western Civilization as a whole. David Hume, who came over two millennia after Plato, represents perhaps the most relevant attempt to establish the boundaries of what can be known. Thesis: According to Humes position on ideas and causationRead MoreBorn in the 5th century BCE, Plato was a rationalist, idealist philosopher, believing that we are1100 Words   |  5 Pagesrationalist, idealist philosopher, believing that we are born with concepts within us, and that these concepts are the same for everyone (Solomon, Higgins, Martin, 2012). Through his beliefs, Plato developed a theory which he believed answered the question of ‘What is reality?’, that he called the theory of Forms (Solomon, et al., 2012). According to Plato, the Forms are a perfect ideal of an object or a concept, which is unchanging and innate within us (Solomon, et al., 2012). It is because of the FormsRead MoreWhat Plato Meant by the Form of the Good Essay1456 Words   |  6 Pages The basis of Platos philosophy is his theory of Ideas, or doctrine of Forms while the notion of Forms is essential to Platos philosophy, over years of philosophical study, it has been difficult to understand what these Forms are supposed to be, and the purpose of their existence. When examining Platos forms and evaluating the theory, some conclusions have proved to be unclear and unanswered. However, the doctrine of Forms is essential to Platos philosophy. Plato came