4. A Brief Biography
• Plato was born around the
year 428 BCE in Athens.
Plato's birth name was
Aristocles, and he gained
the nickname Platon,
meaning broad, because of
his broad build. His family
had a history in politics, and
Plato was destined to a life
in keeping with this history.
5. When Plato met Socrates, he had met his
definitive teacher. As Socrates’s disciple,
Plato adopted his philosophy and style of
debate, and directed his studies toward
the question of virtue and the formation
of a noble character.
6. Plato was in military service from 409
BC to 404 BC. When the
Peloponnesian War ended in 404 BC
he joined the Athenian oligarchy of
the Thirty Tyrants, one of whose
leaders was his uncle Charmides. The
violence of this group quickly
prompted Plato to leave it. In 403 BC,
when democracy was restored in
Athens, he had hopes of pursuing his
original goal of a political career.
Socrates’s execution in 399 BC had a
profound effect on Plato, and was
perhaps the final event that would
convince him to leave Athenian
politics forever.
7. After 399 BC Plato began to write extensively. The order in which he wrote his
major texts is also uncertain. However, most scholars agree to divide Plato's
major work into three distinct groups. The first of these is known as the
Socratic Dialogues because of how close he stays to Socrates’s
teachings.
The period from 387 to 361 BC is often called Plato's "middle" or
transitional period. The major difference between these texts and his earlier
works is that he begins to establish his own voice in philosophy. Plato's most
influential work, The Republic, is also a part of his middle dialogues.
The Republic covers almost every aspect of Plato's thought. Book VII of The
Republic is “The Allegory of the Cave.”
8. Plato founded a school of learning which he called the Academy.
Plato's school is often described at the first European university. Its
curriculum offered subjects including astronomy, biology,
mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Plato hoped the
Academy would provide a place where thinkers could work toward
better government in the Grecian cities. He would preside over the
Academy until his death.
9. It was around 365 BC
when Plato's famous
pupil Aristotle began to
study at the Academy. In
347 Plato died, leaving
the Academy to his
sister's son Speusippus.
The Academy remained a
model for institutions of
higher learning until it
was closed, in 529 CE, by
the Emperor Justinian.
11. THE TASK
Together, draw a picture of Plato’s Cave.
Label the significant aspects of the cave.
Make it fit for overhead projection
See pages 445-46
12. The Allegory
1. Describe how the people in the cave are
situated in Plato's parable. Why can't they
move their legs or necks to take a look around?
What is the only thing they are capable of
seeing? What is their only source of light?
2. What do these prisoners trapped in the cave
believe is real?
3. How does the prisoner react when he first sees
sunlight? Why?
13. 4. What are the stages of the liberated
prisoner's experience outside the
cave?
5. What is the response of the
prisoners to the news of the man
who has escaped about the world
outside? Why?
6. Compare the perspective of the
freed prisoner with the cave
prisoners.
14. IN GROUPS, DISCUSS
“THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE”
FROM
PLATO’S REPUBLIC
CONSIDER HIS RHETORICAL
STRATEGIES, THE ALLEGORY ITSELF,
AND THE “QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL
READING” (PAGES 453-54)
16. Rhetorical Strategies
Allegory: a story in which the characters and
situations actually represent people and characters in
another context.
Dialogue: Asking questions that require simple
answers. Slowly, the questioning proceeds to elucidate
the answers to complex issues.
Clarity
Simplicity
Directness
18. QUESTIONS
What is the
relationship between
Socrates and
Glaucon? Are they
equal in intellectual
authority? Are the
concerned with the
same issues?
How does the allegory
of the prisoners in the
cave watching
shadows on a wall
relate to us today?
What shadows do we
see, and how do they
distort our sense of
what is real?
19. QUESTIONS
Are we prisoners in
the same sense that
Plato’s characters
are?
If Plato is right that
the material world is
an illusion, how
would too great a
reliance on
materialism affect
ethical decisions?
20. QUESTIONS
What ethical
questions are
raised by
Plato’s
Allegory?
In paragraph 49, Plato
states that the virtue of
wisdom “contains a
divine element.” What is
a divine element? What
does this statement seem
to mean? Do you agree
with Plato?
21. QUESTIONS
What distinction
does Plato make
between the public
and the private?
Would you make
the same
distinctions (see
paras. 53-55)?
What does Plato’s
allegory of the cave
tell us about how we
recognize the world?
22. QUESTIONS
According to the
allegory, how do cave
prisoners get free?
What does this suggest
about intellectual
freedom?
What does the allegory
suggests about the
process of
enlightenment or
education?
23. According to The Allegory of the
Cave, what is the main task of the
philosopher?
Who are the “guardians” or
philosopher-kings?
Why should philosopher-kings
rule? Do you agree?
24. ESSAY #4: CLASS 19
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26
You will respond to one of several prompts provided.
There will be prompts addressing each Plato and Woolf.
Your essay will be between 500 and 750 words. The
number of pages will depend on your handwriting!
You will have two hours to write.
Please bring a clean, large Blue Book:
(Approx. 8x10). You can buy them at the bookstore.
You may write with either a number 2 pencil (dark lead)
or blue or black pen.
25. Ways to Proceed
Come to class for the discussions
Participate in, listen to, and think about our class discussions
Read the two essays
Reread the two essays—make notes about your thoughts
Review the “Suggestions for Writing” sections at the end of each essay.
Buy your Blue Book
Bring an appropriate writing utensil
26. • Read A World of Ideas:
• Virginia Woolf "Shakespeare’s
Sister" (761-776) )
• Post #30 Questions (TBD) for
Critical Reading: (page 776)
• Post #31 QHQ Woolf or Plato
HOMEWORK
