Term Paper on "Plato Descartes"

Term Paper 4 pages (1147 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Plato Descartes

Allegory of the Cave" in Book VII of Plato's Republic

What are the people in the cave seeing? What do they think they are seeing? Who does Socrates say that the people in the cave are like?

The cave-dwellers are chained to rocks. They are forced to gaze upon shadows that they take to represent 'reality.' But what they see as 'reality' is merely the shadowy reflections of puppets, manipulated by invisible puppeteers that the cave-dwellers cannot see. The cave dwellers are 'us' or an allegory for the way that most human beings perceive daily reality. What we take for 'the real' is merely an imperfect reflection of the perfect existence of ideal forms.

What is the metaphorical meaning of the cave and of the journey from the darkness of the cave to the outside world?

The metaphorical meaning of the cave is that it depicts human, temporal existence in the absence of philosophical knowledge and an examined life. When human beings begin to question reality, and engage in Socratic question of received common wisdom in an effort to strive to understand the purer, ideal world of the forms, then they can make a journey out of the cave's darkness.

What did the example of Santa Claus explain in relation to the experience of the journey out of the cave?

Plato is profoundly distrustful of mythology, because it is composed of lies that divert people from their real quest for the truth. Santa Claus, a cultural myth, is taken for 'the real' by young children, who see this symbol of generosity as an actual person. Understanding that Santa Claus does not exist, but that a Platonic, idealized spirit of generosity does exist in the world of the forms is part of the journey of the cave of childlike ignorance, superstition, and an overly literal understanding of the world.

Is the journey out of the cave and the arrival outside in the light a negative or positive experience, or both? Explain.

Like learning that there is no jolly man in a red suit, the journey out of ignorance can be painful. It can be painful to realize that you have believed in a lie for most of your life. However, coming to understand philosophical truth is a positive experience, because it brings the benefits of deep understanding and happiness, rather than the pleasures of the moment and the satisfaction that lies and myths give, that are not really the most meaningful form of experience.

Descartes - Context and Problem

In what era was Descartes living and working? What characterized this era in terms of intellectual development?

Descartes was a mathematician and a rationalist. He wrote during an age when scientific discovery was beginning to compete with the medieval forms of producing philosophical knowledge. He attempted to fuse the scientist's methodological rigor rational deduction to a theological question, that of God's existence.

How did this context, and his personal experience of it, create a problem for Descartes, and what was that problem?

Descartes was aware that Galileo's view of the universe, which Galileo had proved through scientific deduction, had been contemned by the Catholic Church. Descartes was determined to show that scientific inquiry and using a rational approach to understanding the world was not inconsistent with the Church's teaching.

What does Descartes determine to seek? How will he perform this search - What will he do to investigate the problem? What is his… READ MORE

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