Plato explains the meaning of his allegory "The Cave" in the last paragraph:
This entire allegory, I said, you may now append, dear Glaucon, to the previous argument; the cave is the world of sight, the light of the fire is the sun, and you will not misapprehend me if you interpret the journey upwards to be the ascent of the soul into the intellectual world according to my poor belief, which, at your desire, I have expressed whether rightly or wrongly God knows. But, whether true or false, my opinion is that in the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort; and, when seen, is also inferred to be the universal author of all things beautiful and right, parent of light and of the lord of light in this visible world, and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual; and that this is the power upon which he who would act rationally, either in public or private life must have his eye fixed.
What do you think Plato means by the "world of sight?" In your own words, what is the soul's journey upward? What is the idea of good, and how is it related to the soul's journey upward?
Finally, use the section Gotama to analyze how Siddhartha himself is on the journey towards realizing the "idea of the good." What are both the pains and progressions Siddhartha has made towards "seeing the light," or enlightenment? USE ANALOGIES FROM "THE CAVE."
To read Plato's Republic Book VII ("The Cave") in its entirety, read this link: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/platoscave.html
By "world of sight" I think that Plato means that the cave is reality. The soul's journey upward is enlightenment to reality and being able to see things for what they really are. I think the idea of good is God and that its related to the soul's journey because we want to be like Him. Being good or being like God is what we strive for so that when we die our souls will go to heaven.
ReplyDeleteSiddhartha has done so much as not eating to not breathing in his journey toward seeing the light; He has listened to teachings from the Samanas and Gotama, gaining knowledge from them, so he can "see the light"
By saying the phrase "world of sight" I believe that Plato means that the cave is reality and the outsie world is fantasy. Th upward journey of the soul os like an enlightment to reality and basically being able to understand and realize things for what they are. In my opinio good is the highest living that we wish to achieve. For example, we want to be like God. The journey is related to this because each person strives to be like him so ey can reach heaven. As for Siddartha, He has committed himself to do whatever needs to be done such as deprieving himself of essential needs like food and oxygen throughout his journey.The knowledge he recieved from the Samanas and Gotamas will help him to see the light or reality.
ReplyDeleteBy saying "world of sight" i believe that Plato is saying that what we see is real not a dream.The souls journey upward to me is staight foreward & the words explainit self.Basically the soul see somthing that it is really interested in & now the soul is on a journey to discover it.Here is another one that explains itself.The idea of good is when you thinking about good & you can relate it to the journey because ideas & your soul basically go hand & hand.Siddartha has done some really crazy things so if you dont believe that he is striding for the light something is wrong with you the reader.This man hold his brealth & stop eating.He is going hard to gaing all of this knowledge iI just hope that the light is worth it
ReplyDeleteBy mentioning the "world of sight" I believe Plato is saying this is not reality but basically a world of what you think is right. The "world of sight" could also be a fantasy of what keeps you blinded from what is real. To me, the soul's journey upward would be the soul finding itself and finding out who you really are and what you stand for. The journey upward would be discovering what your purpose is living here. Being good would be living right and doing rightful things. This contributes to the upward journey because when you are good and obey God, he opens up so many more opportunities for you to find yourself and discover who you really are, which is the upward journey.
ReplyDeleteSiddhartha is on the journey of finding himself because he learns everything he needs from people who is able to teach him. He sees others following everything of what they think is right but he is on his own journey to find out what the world self really is. The pain he goes through is giving up breathing, sacrificing everything, and missing out on the good life. The progressions he face is becoming closer to discovering who he really is.