Ancient philosophical influences
Rationalism: the view that the primary source of knowledge is reason, in the
strictest sense, a priori reason.
Empiricism: the idea that observations via our senses lead us to understanding of
the world.
Reason: using logical thought in order to reach conclusions
A priori knowledge: derived through reason alone (basic logic for example 2+2=4).
A-posteriori knowledge: reason derived through experience
Plato relied on reason and believed that the most important aspect of reality
lay beyond this world. (rationalist)
Aristotle relied on empirical knowledge and believed that the most important
thing to do was to gain understanding of this world. (empiricist)
What they agree on is the importance of philosophical thought and reason as a
means of gaining truth. This separates them from Christian thinkers who believe
that truth comes through revelation.
Both thinkers have been influential in shaping views of Christians and others on
various topics.
Plato’s understanding of reality
Plato believed that there was a greater reality beyond the world we experience
He believed that a priori reasoning (knowledge not dependent on experience
and known prior to experience) was the key to unlocking this reality.
His most famous illustration of these views is his analogy of the cave
The story of the cave:
He asks us to imagine that a group of prisoners are chained in an underground
cave
They have been there since birth and are chained by their neck and ankles
They can only see the shadows projected on the wall by a fire
They believe that the shadows are all that exists
If one day a prisoner were released and were to venture outside the cave, once
his sight adjusted he would realise that it was the outside world that was real
and the cave itself was just a shadow world
If the prisoner were to return and attempt to pass on his new knowledge, Plato
argues that he would not be believed and the other prisoners might even
threaten to kill him.
(don’t spend too much time retelling this story, just apply it to your point)
The story explained:
Aspect of the story The meaning
The prisoners Ordinary people in our world
The cave The empirical world that we see and hear
around us
The chains The senses that restrict the way we
experience things
The shadows Our everyday sense experiences
, The escapee The philosopher who is able to access
knowledge
The outside world The real world, the world of the Forms
The return to the cave The philosopher once enlightened, feels
it is his duty to free and educate others
So, Plato uses the analogy of the cave to portray that empirical knowledge
is restricted, and there is another world out there (world of the Forms)
where we can experience true enlightenment and knowledge.
The key messages of the cave:
Metaphysics: Plato’s view on metaphysics is that this world is not real and that
the real world is an unchanging world of Forms.
Epistemology: (aka how do we gain knowledge?) Plato’s view is that
knowledge is through the mind (a priori) not the senses (a posterirori). The
senses only provide opinions and shadows.
Politics: (who should rule?) The philosopher is the only one who has
knowledge, and thus, philosophers should rule. Democracy puts power into the
hands of the majority who lack knowledge (the cave dwellers in the story)
Issues with Plato’s ideas on the cave:
It is not clear why it is important for the philosophers to rule if this is only a
shadow world
Plato may be right to suggest that our senses are not always reliable; however,
the information we get through our senses is not unimportant; we need this to
survive.
Plato does not offer proof of the existence of another realm and he is unclear
how the two worlds relate to each other
He is guilty of elitism – the philosopher is not completely different to the
ordinary person. While he may be correct to say there are differences in
knowledge, these are differences in degree of knowledge. Having only two
groups of people – those who know and those who are ignorant is too simplistic
and not realistic.
Plato’s Forms
In his analogy of the cave, Plato argued that the objects in our world are merely
shadows of real objects; the philosopher is able to leave the cave and understand the
Forms – the true objects in the real world.
Forms: the name Plato gives to ideal concepts that exist in reality
Particulars: the name Plato gives to the objects in the empirical world which are
merely imperfect copies of the Form
To understand why Plato believes that there are Forms, consider the difference
between our world and the mathematical world.
In our world, everything is in a process of change: people grow old and die,
trees grow and shed leaves, water continually flows.
Yet mathematical truths do not change: triangles always have 3 sides, 2+2 will
always be 4.
Plato believes that there is a similar unchanging truth about every type of object
or quality.
Rationalism: the view that the primary source of knowledge is reason, in the
strictest sense, a priori reason.
Empiricism: the idea that observations via our senses lead us to understanding of
the world.
Reason: using logical thought in order to reach conclusions
A priori knowledge: derived through reason alone (basic logic for example 2+2=4).
A-posteriori knowledge: reason derived through experience
Plato relied on reason and believed that the most important aspect of reality
lay beyond this world. (rationalist)
Aristotle relied on empirical knowledge and believed that the most important
thing to do was to gain understanding of this world. (empiricist)
What they agree on is the importance of philosophical thought and reason as a
means of gaining truth. This separates them from Christian thinkers who believe
that truth comes through revelation.
Both thinkers have been influential in shaping views of Christians and others on
various topics.
Plato’s understanding of reality
Plato believed that there was a greater reality beyond the world we experience
He believed that a priori reasoning (knowledge not dependent on experience
and known prior to experience) was the key to unlocking this reality.
His most famous illustration of these views is his analogy of the cave
The story of the cave:
He asks us to imagine that a group of prisoners are chained in an underground
cave
They have been there since birth and are chained by their neck and ankles
They can only see the shadows projected on the wall by a fire
They believe that the shadows are all that exists
If one day a prisoner were released and were to venture outside the cave, once
his sight adjusted he would realise that it was the outside world that was real
and the cave itself was just a shadow world
If the prisoner were to return and attempt to pass on his new knowledge, Plato
argues that he would not be believed and the other prisoners might even
threaten to kill him.
(don’t spend too much time retelling this story, just apply it to your point)
The story explained:
Aspect of the story The meaning
The prisoners Ordinary people in our world
The cave The empirical world that we see and hear
around us
The chains The senses that restrict the way we
experience things
The shadows Our everyday sense experiences
, The escapee The philosopher who is able to access
knowledge
The outside world The real world, the world of the Forms
The return to the cave The philosopher once enlightened, feels
it is his duty to free and educate others
So, Plato uses the analogy of the cave to portray that empirical knowledge
is restricted, and there is another world out there (world of the Forms)
where we can experience true enlightenment and knowledge.
The key messages of the cave:
Metaphysics: Plato’s view on metaphysics is that this world is not real and that
the real world is an unchanging world of Forms.
Epistemology: (aka how do we gain knowledge?) Plato’s view is that
knowledge is through the mind (a priori) not the senses (a posterirori). The
senses only provide opinions and shadows.
Politics: (who should rule?) The philosopher is the only one who has
knowledge, and thus, philosophers should rule. Democracy puts power into the
hands of the majority who lack knowledge (the cave dwellers in the story)
Issues with Plato’s ideas on the cave:
It is not clear why it is important for the philosophers to rule if this is only a
shadow world
Plato may be right to suggest that our senses are not always reliable; however,
the information we get through our senses is not unimportant; we need this to
survive.
Plato does not offer proof of the existence of another realm and he is unclear
how the two worlds relate to each other
He is guilty of elitism – the philosopher is not completely different to the
ordinary person. While he may be correct to say there are differences in
knowledge, these are differences in degree of knowledge. Having only two
groups of people – those who know and those who are ignorant is too simplistic
and not realistic.
Plato’s Forms
In his analogy of the cave, Plato argued that the objects in our world are merely
shadows of real objects; the philosopher is able to leave the cave and understand the
Forms – the true objects in the real world.
Forms: the name Plato gives to ideal concepts that exist in reality
Particulars: the name Plato gives to the objects in the empirical world which are
merely imperfect copies of the Form
To understand why Plato believes that there are Forms, consider the difference
between our world and the mathematical world.
In our world, everything is in a process of change: people grow old and die,
trees grow and shed leaves, water continually flows.
Yet mathematical truths do not change: triangles always have 3 sides, 2+2 will
always be 4.
Plato believes that there is a similar unchanging truth about every type of object
or quality.
