Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Plato explores the idea that the real world is an illusion in the allegory of the cave in The Republic. Plato imagines a cave in which people have been kept prisoner since birth. These people are bound in such a way that they can look only straight ahead, not behind them or to the side. On the wall in front of them, they can see flickering shadows in the shape of people, trees, and animals. Because these images are all they’ve ever seen, they believe these images constitute the real world. One day, a prisoner escapes his bonds. He looks behind him and sees that what he thought was the real world is actually an elaborate set of shadows, which free people create with statues and the light from a fire. The statues, he decides, are actually the real world, not the shadows. Then he is freed from the cave altogether, and sees the actual world for the first time. He has a difficult time adjusting his eyes to the bright light of the sun, but eventually he does. Fully aware of true reality, he must return to the cave and try to teach others what he knows. The experience of this prisoner is a metaphor for the process by which rare human beings free themselves from the world of appearances and, with the help of philosophy, perceive the world truly.
Neo is pulled from a kind of cave in the first Matrix film, when he sees the real world for the first time. Everything he thought was real is only an illusion—much like the shadows on the cave walls and the statues that made the shadows were only copies of things in the real world. Plato insists that those who free themselves and come to perceive reality have a duty to return and teach others, and this holds true in the Matrix films as well, as Neo takes it upon himself to save humanity from widespread ignorance and acceptance of a false reality.Sparknotes. (2018). Philosophical Influences. Retrieved fromhttps://www.sparknotes.com/film/matrix/section1/
Philosophy Plato
The School of Life. (2014, October 20).
Who is Plato?
- Plato. (2018). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://school-eb-com-au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/Plato/108556
Plato, (born 428/427 BCE, Athens, Greece—died 348/347, Athens), ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470–399 BCE), teacher of Aristotle (384–322 BCE), and founder of the Academy, best known as the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence. - Brickhouse, T & Smith, (N.D.) Plato (427—347 B.C.E.) Retrieved from ://www.iep.utm.edu/plato/
Plato is one of the world's best known and most widely read and studied philosophers. He was the student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, and he wrote in the middle of the fourth century B.C.E. in ancient Greece. Though influenced primarily by Socrates, to the extent that Socrates is usually the main character in many of Plato's writings, he was also influenced by Heraclitus, Parmenides, and the Pythagoreans.
Plato's best and worst ideas.
Ted-ed. (2016, October 25).
Socrates, Plato and The Matrix
- Rennie, J. [Plato,The Matrix and the Allegory of The Cave - SPS 405} 92014, July 15) {Video File}. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/u5en9Xh9MG0The Matrix is a film that provides a new twist on an ancient Allegory that Plato recorded in his book the Republic. On this episode of the Sci Phi Show we'll explore the Allegory of the Cave and how the Matrix takes it in a new direction.
Aristotle
Aristotle
- Aristotle. (2018). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://school-eb-com-au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/Aristotle/108312Aristotle, Greek Aristoteles, (born 384 bce, Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece—died 322, Chalcis, Euboea), ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, one of the greatest intellectual figures of Western history. He was the author of a philosophical and scientific system that became the framework and vehicle for both Christian Scholasticism and medieval Islamic philosophy. Even after the intellectual revolutions of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, Aristotelian concepts remained embedded in Western thinking.
- History. com. (2018). Aristotle. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/aristotleThe Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) made significant and lasting contributions to nearly every aspect of human knowledge, from logic to biology to ethics and aesthetics. Though overshadowed in classical times by the work of his teacher Plato, from late antiquity through the Enlightenment, Aristotle’s surviving writings were incredibly influential.
The Ideas of Socrates
Academy of Ideas. (2013, April 30).
Socrates visits the Oracle at Delphi
Socrates’ Visit to the Oracle of Delphi
Ancient Greeks considered Delphi to be the center of the world and revered the wisdom of the Oracle who resided there, in the Temple of Apollo. This Oracle’s prophecies were always cryptic. When Socrates visited the Oracle, he claimed that he knew nothing, and the Oracle replied that he was the wisest man on earth. Socrates disagreed, but he eventually discovered her ironic meaning. By claiming to know nothing, Socrates truly was the wisest because all others were under the false impression that they knew more than they actually knew. The phrase “Know Thyself” was inscribed on the walls of the Oracle’s temple, suggesting that true wisdom lies in recognizing one’s own ignorance. Neo, like Socrates, is willing to admit to his own ignorance, and the Oracle in the Matrixfilms maintains her confidence in him and his abilities despite his often visible confusion and doubt. Sparknotes. (2018). Philosophical Influences. Retrieved from https://www.sparknotes.com/film/matrix/section1/
Who is Socrates?
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/SocratesSocrates, (born c. 470 BCE, Athens [Greece]—died 399 BCE, Athens), Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on ancient and modern philosophy.
- https://www.iep.utm.edu/socrates/Socrates, (born c. 470 BCE, Athens [Greece]—died 399 BCE, Athens), Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on ancient and modern philosophy.
Plato and Socrates
Crash Course. (2018, April 16).