Epic Book "The Republic" by Plato. Specifically

¶ … epic book "The Republic" by Plato. Specifically it will discuss the "Allegory of the Cave" contained in the book and relate it to the background logic you brought to this class and establish whether or not this class has affected your background logic. If so how, and if not, why not? The allegory of the cave may be Plato's most famous allegory from his work "The Republic" and it is still a viable source of logic in today's world.

However, I do not agree with all of Plato's logic, and my logic has not changed since taking this class -- in fact, the class has simply helped cement my own background logic in my mind even further. After reading "The Allegory of the Cave" and attempting to understand Plato's logic and philosophy, I feel my background logic seems intact.

Before I enrolled in this class, my logic was basically "If I cannot see it or touch it then it does not matter." Reality is the most important concept to me, and I believe it was the most important concept to Plato. His allegory of the cave shows that people only experience that what they can see, hear, and touch, and nothing else is real to them. If they are shown an alternate reality, they may not be able to accept it or understand it.

I agree with that and I understand it. Conceptually, if I was shown an alternate reality right now, I probably would not be able to understand or accept it either. However, I do not believe there is an alternate reality, and while Plato's allegory of the cave is certainly true -- today there are very few of us in the modern world who are raised in the restrictions of a cave or other reality as he suggests.

Today, reality is real, and we tend to know the realities of what we experience by seeing and touching, and knowing for sure that they are real and exist. Plato states in his allegory, "In the knowable realm, the form of the good is the last thing to be seen, and it is reached only with difficulty" (Plato 189). I agree with this, and feel it fits in to my own background logic very nicely. It is difficult to see the "good" in things very often.

Just because something can be seen or touched does not always mean it is good or even necessary, and that part of the logic must always be worked out inside my own head. "Good" is a philosophical idea that often has little to do with reality and more to do with perception and expectation. To reach the ultimate good and decent is difficult at best, and throughout the journey in life, we seek a higher knowledge and deeper understanding.

I think that the concrete things we can see and touch help give us the foundation to build upon and the ultimate reality that gives us understanding and knowledge. Of course, as Plato notes, there are different types of light and of seeing. He notes that the cave dweller who suddenly sees the sunlight will be blinded by the light and unable to see. Sometimes, we go through life the same way, unable to see what is right in front of us, and so, our realities are skewed.

Plato uses this analogy in the allegory, placing the prisoners where they can only see the shadows of the puppets, and so that is all they can see. Thus, that is all they understand of reality, is shadows, rather than real forms. Plato believes there are things that cannot be seen, and cannot be grasped by the mind, and in this I disagree with him.

I believe that the things we cannot see or touch really do not matter, and they are simply extraneous matter that has no real part in our lives. This has not changed during this class. I came into the class with this belief, and I still have it. I think that logic is about reality, not supposition, and the things we cannot see and touch are simply supposition rather than reality. This class has not changed my logic because much of this class has helped make my background logic stronger.

This allegory, for example, helps me see that the shadows many people might "think" are reality are not real at all. Many people spend too long looking at the shadows instead of looking at what is real and true. I think that is what Plato was trying to say, and what my own logic has helped convince me is true. Only what is real matters, and the other "shadows" are not real.

They cannot be seen and touched, and so ultimately they do not matter in the world's scheme of things, or in my own reality. As such, Plato's thoughts really echo many of my own -- but of course they do not all match my own logic. There must always be disagreement of philosophy I think. That is what makes philosophy important, it makes people think and creates questions in their minds.

My own logic has certainly created questions in my mind, and I feel this class has answered some of those questions and made my logic sounder. I think of the allegory of the cave, and I think of so many people who still live in the dark, never questioning what they see, hear, and feel. I think that we have to question everything, but that if we can actually see and touch what we question, then our question is answered and we know what is real.