POLS 1002 Lecture 6: Book 7 = Plato, the Republic
Document Summary
Book seven: the allegory of the cave. Socrates" philosophical claims about reality and knowledge (video notes) Prisoners chained in a cave, can only see shadows on the wall. The shadows are truer to him then the light he sees after he is released. There is a reality based on the shadows, they"ve never known true reality. Blinded by leaving the cave = difficulty leaving the cave and seeing sunlight, the real things instead of their shadows. Blinded by returning to the cave = can"t adjust back to the cave after leaving. Moral of the story = philosophy and current politics are in conflict in the city. It"s going to be hard to convince the people in the cave of some philosophical ideas. In an unjust city, the philosopher"s return to the cave goes beyond duty. Unjust = rule of rich, bad rulers.
