We know little about Plato’s life; he mentions himself only twice in his writings and never wrote in first person. Living from 429 to 347 BCE, Plato was born in Athens, Greece. His dialogues portray characters discussing philosophical issues: moral, religious, and epistemological. The student of Socrates, Plato's early work was based on Socrates’ teachings; later, however, the ideas of the two philosophers became ambiguous - scholars still debate about who's "speaking" in Plato's works. Plato's dialogues are debates between Socrates and others; often, Plato uses Socrates as a mouthpiece for his own theories. Plato continued the philosophical tradition of mentorship; he taught Aristotle who, in turn, taught Alexander the Great. He believed that, through philosophy, one begins to understand oneself and the “real” world.

Plato’s Metaphysics - Immaterial vs. Material

• Metaphysics defined: branch of philosophy examining ultimate nature of being and reality, the relationship between mind and matter, life and death, etc.

• “Good life” obtained by avoiding materiality

• The Phaedo introduces Plato's theory of “Forms" (ex. Truth, Beauty, Good) which are absolute and eternal.

• Separation and conflict between soul and body-body enslaves soul:

- Soul Pure, immaterial; Reason/rationality; Ruled by the mind

- Body Physical/material; temporal, needy; Ruled by appetite

▪ “Only the body and its desires cause war, civil discord and battles, for all wars are due to the desire to acquire wealth, and it the body and the care of it, to which we are enslaved” (Phaedo 66c/d)

• Point of life: get closer to the Forms through pursuit of knowledge (philosophizing)

• We can only truly know Forms after death when soul separates from body

• “Death is this, namely that the body comes to be separated by itself apart from the soul, and the soul comes to be separated by itself apart from the body” (Phaedo 64c)

• Choices we make in life are crucial: Do we let material things rule our lives or the immaterial (knowledge/truth)?

Question for thought: Does Plato leave any room for seeking material goods in life?

Allegory of the Cave

• Republic, “Allegory of the Cave,” represents theories about the body and soul-with ethical, political, and epistemological implications

- Presents image of a dark cave; people chained and blindfolded, forced to see only shadows on the wall they mistake for "reality."

- Breaking free of chains, one's able to travel outside the cave into the light (first blinds us) see reflections in water (of flowers/trees) then adjust to see worldly things

• “When one of them was freed and suddenly compelled to stand up, turn his head, walk, and look up toward the light, he’d be pained and dazzled and unable to see things whose shadows he’d seen before” (Republic 515c)

• Eventually able to look directly into the Sun (epitome of the Forms)

- First, opposed to coming out of cave-blinding and uncomfortable

- We'd rather remain in darkness...ignorance is bliss

• “In the knowable realm, the form of the good is the last thing to be seen, and it is reached only with difficulty. Once one has seen it, however, one must conclude that it is the cause of all that is correct and beautiful in anything, […] and that in the intelligible realm it controls and provides truth and understanding” (Republic 514a)

- Finally, we adjust to "real" world (of Forms)- better off and more enlightened

- The enlightened have a duty to return into the cave, to liberate those in darkness

• Implications:

- Duty of enlightened to teach/liberate others

- Shows separation of body and soul

- Should pursue the eternal/immaterial, not temporary/material

- Ignorance/darkness=body

• Pop Culture: movie “The Matrix”

- Neo must choose between living in the Matrix or finding truth

- We must choose to take red pill (knowledge and truth) or the blue pill (comfortable world of ignorance)

Question for thought: Should we pursue a greater knowledge? Is there a hidden reality that we can’t even perceive yet?

By: Helene Purcell and Nolan Vihlen

References:

Plato, Phaedo, trans.G.M.A.Grube (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2002).

Plato, The Republic, "The Analogy of the Cave," from Introduction to Philosophy:Readings, compiled by John Immerwahr, Villanova University, Dec.2008.