Platonic epistemology

Part of a series on
PIato
Plato f rom The Schoo/ ol Athens by Raphael,
l509
Early lif e Works Platonism EpistemoIogy
ldealism / Realism Demiurge Theory of Forms
Transcendentals Form of the Good
Third man argument Euthyphro dilemma
Five regimes Philosopher king
AIIegories and metaphors
Atlantis Ring of Gyges The cave
The divided line The sun Ship of state
Myth of Er The chariot
ReIated articIes
Commentaries The Academy in Athens
Socratic problem Middle Platonism
Neoplatonism (and Christianity)
PhiIosophy portaI
v t e
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PIato's epistemoIogy holds that
knowledge of Platonic ldeas is innate, so
that learning is the development of ideas
buried deep in the soul, often under the
midwife-like guidance of an interrogator. ln
several dialogues by Plato, the character
Socrates presents the view that each soul
existed before birth with the Form of the
Good and a perfect knowledge of ldeas.
Thus, when an ldea is "learned" it is
actually just "recalled."
[l]
Plato drew a sharp distinction between
knowledge, which is certain, and mere true
opinion, which is not certain. Opinions
derive from the shifting world of sensation;
knowledge derives from the world of
timeless Forms, or essences. ln The
Pepub//c, these concepts were illustrated
using the metaphor of the sun, the analogy
of the divided line, and the allegory of the
cave.
Contents [hide]
l Platonic doctrine of recollection
2 Metaphor of the sun
3 The divided line
4 Allegory of the cave
5 Charioteer myth
6 An example: love and wisdom
7 References
Platonic doctrine of recollection [edit]
The P/aton/c doctr/ne ol reco//ect/on or anamnes/s, is the idea that we are born
possessing all knowledge and our realization of that knowledge is contingent on our
discovery of it. Whether the doctrine should be taken literally or not is a subject of
debate. The soul is trapped in the body. The soul once lived in "Reality", but got trapped
in the body. lt once knew everything, but forgot it. The goal of Recollection is to get
back to true Knowledge. To do this, one must overcome the body. This doctrine implies
that nothing is ever learned, it is simply recalled or remembered. ln short it says that all
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that we know already comes pre-loaded on birth and our senses enable us to identify
and recognize the stratified information in our mind.
Metaphor of the sun [edit]
lor more deta//s on th/s top/c, see P/ato's metaphor ol the sun.
ln The Republic (507b-509c) Plato's Socrates uses the sun as a metaphor for the
source of "intellectual illumination," which he held to be The lorm ol the Good. The
metaphor is about the nature of ultimate reality and how we come to know it. lt starts
with the eye, which Socrates says is unusual among the sense organs in that it needs
a medium, namely light, in order to operate. The strongest and best source of light is
the sun; with it, we can discern objects clearly. Analogously for intelligible objects The
lorm ol the Good is necessary in order to understand any particular thing. Thus, if we
attempt to understand why things are as they are, and what general categories can be
used to understand various particulars around us, without reference to any forms
(universals) we will fail completely. By contrast, "the domain where truth and reality
shine resplendent" is none other than Plato's world of formsilluminated by the highest
of the forms, that of the Good.
The divided line [edit]
lor more deta//s on th/s top/c, see P/ato's d/v/ded //ne.
ln Plato's Republic, Book Vl, the divided line has two parts that represent the intelligible
world and the smaller visible world. Each of those two parts is divided, the segments
within the intelligible world represent higher and lower forms and the segments within
the visible world represent ordinary visible objects and their shadows, reflections, and
other representations. The line segments are unequal and their lengths represent "their
comparative clearness and obscurity" and their comparative "reality and truth," as well
as whether we have knowledge or instead mere opinion of the objects.
Allegory of the cave [edit]
lor more deta//s on th/s top/c, see P/ato's a//egory ol the cave.
ln his best-known dialogue, The Pepub//c, Plato drew an analogy between human
sensation and the shadows that pass along the wall of a cave - an allegory known as
Plato's allegory of the cave.
Charioteer myth [edit]
lor more deta//s on th/s top/c, see Char/ot A//egory.
Along with these other allegories, Plato's charioteer myth (Phaedrus 245c-257b)
certainly also deserves mention. The ascent of the mind to celestial and trans-celestial
realms is likened to a charioteer and a chariot drawn by two winged horses, one dark
and one white. Figuratively represented is the famous Platonic tr/part/te mode/ of the
soul: the charioteer represents reason, or intellect, the dark horse appetitive passions,
and the white horse irascible nature. Only by taming and controlling the two horses can
the charioteer ascend to the heavens and enjoy a banquet of divine knowledge. Key
epistemological features of the charioteer myth are (l) an emphasis, as with the cave
allegory, upon true knowledge as ascent, (2) and the need to tame one's passionate
nature to obtain true knowledge.
An example: love and wisdom [edit]
A good example of how Plato presents the acquiring of knowledge is contained in the
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[show] v t e
ladder ol love. ln Sympos/um (2l0a-2llb), Plato's Socrates cites the priestess
Diotima as defining a "lover" as someone who loves and love as a desire for something
that one does not have. According to this ladder model of love, a lover progresses from
rung to rung from the basest love to the pure form of love as follows:
l. A beaut/lu/ body - The lover begins here at the most obvious form of love.
2. A// beaut/lu/ bod/es - lf the lover examines his love and does some investigating,
he/she will find that the beauty contained in this beautiful body is not original,
that it is shared by every beautiful body.
3. Beaut/lu/ sou/s - After most likely attempting to have every beautiful body, the
lover should realize that if a single love does not satisfy, there is not reason to
think that many ones will satisfy. Thus, the "lover of every body" must, in the
words of Plato, "bring his passion for the one into due proportion by deeming it of
little or of no importance." lnstead, the passion is transferred to a more
appropriate object: the soul.
4. The beauty ol /aws and /nst/tut/ons - The next logical step is for the lover to love
all beautiful souls and then to transfer that love to that which is responsible for
their existence: a moderate, harmonious and just social order.
5. The beauty ol know/edge - Once proceeding down this path, the lover will
naturally long for that which produces and makes intelligible good social
institutions: knowledge.
6. Beauty /tse/l - This is the platonic "form" of beauty itself. lt is not a particular
thing that is beautiful, but is instead the essence of beauty. Plato describes this
level of love as a "wondrous vision," an "everlasting loveliness which neither
comes nor ages, which neither flowers nor fades." lt is eternal and isn't "anything
that is of the flesh" nor "words" nor "knowledge" but consists "of itself and by
itself in an eternal oneness, while every lovely thing partakes of it."
Knowledge concerning other things is similarly gained by progressing from a base
reality (or shadow) of the thing sought (red, tall, thin, keen, etc.) to the eventual form of
the thing sought, or the thing sought itself. Such steps follow the same pattern as
Plato's metaphor of the sun, his allegory of the cave and his divided line; progress
brings one closer and closer to reality as each step explains the relative reality of the
past.
References [edit]
l. ^ Ackrill, J.L. "Anamnsis in the Phaedo," in E.N. Lee and A.P.D. Mourelatos (eds.)
Exegesis and Argument: Studies in Greek Philosophy Presented to Gregory Vlastos.
Assen, l973. l77-95. On the theory of recollection in Plato's Phaedo(73c-75).
EpistemoIogy
Categories: Epistemological theories Platonism
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