So what parallels are there between the Analogy of the Good to the Sun, the divided line and the Allegory of the Cave?
Also, I just wanted to remind you to come prepared with your own analogy of the good for class tomorrow. For example if you think the Good doesn't exist, you might compare it to a mythical creature like the unicorn, something beautiful to contemplate but unfortunately something that only resides in imaginative pictures and children's fantasies. Or if you think the Good is something real but elusive, you may compare it to a fox that always knows how to hide. So to do this assignment well you need to think about some of the characteristics of the good and then attempt to furnish us with a concrete object that mirrors those qualities.
See you soon,
Dr. Layne
Light is very important in both the Allegory of the Cave and the Sun as Good analogy. The light is the good because without it our ability to see would be useless. The sun is also a universal source of energy. "The sun not only provides visible things with the power to be seen but also with coming to be, growth, and nourishment" (500). Intelligible things would have no way of experiencing life without light. The fire in the cave can be compared to the sun, only on a smaller scale.
ReplyDeleteIn the example of the divided line, the bottom tier is made of conjecture. Similar to the people groping around in the darkness of the cave, opinion is represented by shadows or images. In the next tier of the divided line, belief sheds light on visible objects, similar to the sun. Next, understanding allows us to comprehend the visible world, just as the philosopher is able to understand the world after escaping from the cave. Finally, intellect unites objects with the Good, just as the sun unites the eye with the visible object.
ReplyDeleteThe Good is like a painting; the original painting exists on its own. But no matter how many times the copy of it gets reprinted, redistributed and rereleased, nothing compares to actually viewing the original. Sure, having a postcard of an Andy Warhol picture is fine for conversation starters, but have you actually seen one up close?
ReplyDeleteBetween the Allegory of the Good to the Sun, the divided line, and the Allegory of the Cave, there are several parallels. The Good as knowledge is also the intelligible half of the divided line, which is also comparable to the people stepping out of the cave. Imagination has to happen for the people in the cave before they see the light, and imagination is low on the divided line.
ReplyDeleteImmediately there are parallels between the three that jump out to me. The most prominent is that each has different levels of awareness, consciousness and intelligibility. In the Analogy of the Good to the Sun the least enlightened is one who lacks light on certain situations and simply desires the seeming. In the divided line the least enlightened/ intelligible is the category of shadows and images where light is also lacking which is why there are only simply shadows representing simple conjectures or opinions. As we learned in class, this lower level of the divided line can be translated as people groping around without light trying to find something. This is obviously correlated to the Allegory of the Cave where the least knowledgeable people are those who are sheltered by the cave who have never seen true light, the sun. These components show how all three examples are all directly correlated. The least intelligible are those who like light on certain situations, literally and figuratively. People in each analogy only become intelligible when light is shown on situations leading them to intellect and contemplation, where they can examine the world and not just observe but also strive and want to interpret it.
ReplyDeleteThe major parallel between the analogy of the Good to the Sun, allegory of the cave, and the divided line is the presence or lack of light. Sun light is a major player in our lives and light shows things to our eyes that we cannot see in darkness. Perception seems to tie these three together.
ReplyDeleteLight is the parallel between all three metaphors. In the Allegory of the Cave, a person is born into captivity and darkness. The only way of getting out is through light, and with light the person gains knowledge and freedom. In the Divided Line knowledge is broken up into different levels, the bottom being darkness/shadows and the top being light/understanding. Furthermore, in the Analogy of Good to the Sun, the sun represents good, growth, power and knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree light plays a major role in these three analogies. Light provides us with sight in which when can see things clearly thus thinking reasonably and rationally.
ReplyDeleteThe Analogy of the Good to the Sun, the divided line and the Allegory of the Cave all explain how important the philosopher-king is to the community—since he is the most educated—and is only able to understand the intelligible. These analogies are similar because they all contrast between the visible and invisible world and between knowledge and opinion. The Good to the Sun describes how both the good and the sun cause things to be. The sun allows for visibility, just as the good allows for knowledge and truth. The sun (light) unites eye and sight and without it we would be in a world of opinion. Likewise, the good unites reason with being and without the good we would not see ideas or what they are good for. The good allows for the intelligible, which leads to the next two analogies.
ReplyDeleteIn the allegory of the cave the prisoner understands reality first to be the shadow of artifacts, then to be the fire and the statues, and finally sees things for themselves. His coming into knowledge relates to the various tiers of understanding on the divided line.
1. At the lowest level of the divided line there is only opinion manifested as shadows and images (similar to the prisoner thinking the shadows were in fact reality).
2. On the second tier there are beliefs manifested as things we see in the visible world such as plants and chairs (like when the prisoner comes to understand that the shadows were just images, but thinks the statues and fire are reality).
3. On the third tier there is understanding manifested as geometry and the like (this is evident in the Allegory of the Cave when the prisoner can’t look directly at the light, but can see the image of it in other things).
4. At the highest level of the divided line there is intellect and reason. Only at the highest level and only once the prisoner comes to see reality can he know of the good. (This becomes obvious when the prisoner can look directly at the sun—after he has adjusted to reality).
I think that light definately plays a large part in these analogies because without light we would not be able to see anything phyically, but also mentally because its like you are coming out of the darkness of unknowing to knowing. Light also seems to be assoicated with the good, I mean look at Jesus.. he is clothed in white, where the devil is probably in black or darkness. By going into the light we are able to see with our own eyes the goodness of things.
ReplyDeleteOne parallel that they have incommon is how light illuminates reason in all three analogies. The light show the true forms of thing and as the person discovers the mean of the forms, the prisoner then starts to reason and move up the divided line. Another parallel is that all three analogies have to do with cognitive thought. As the prisoner in the cave discovers more about the shadows that he sees on the cave wall, the prisoner is becoming more aware and is moving up the cognitive line. Once the prisoner reaches the outside world and sees the entire truth then the prisoner turns to the Sun, which represents the ultimate form and the highs stage of cognitive thought.
ReplyDeleteI think the good is like a board game. People all try to work towards a common good or goal, but there are many paths one can take to reach that goal. Some paths may be more questionable than others and there are always obstacles to overcome in order to achieve what's good.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the analogy of the good and the sun, the divided line, and the allegory of the cave; I think they are parallel in that all three talk about the rising from ignorance and darkness to the light and understanding, or the good. It's like spreading your horizons and trying to do different things. It would help you learn things you would not have if you avoided or ignored it. It's like not knowing if a stranger is good or bad but if you get to know the person you realize he is nice and you two become close friends. You would rise from ignorance of that person to understanding.
In each some individual is picked above the rest to come to some greater enlightenment about reality and the working of the world. Then they use this knowledge to go back and try to help others. I think the divided line is ridiculous though, I think that to choose specific people to "enlighten" is damaging to society. It keeps everyone in the cave. Even the enlightened must go back to the cave. He is always withholding information from his peers, keeping them in the dark. No matter how much exposure they may have to the good he will prevent them from understanding it. I highly disagree with Socrates' view of this virtuous hierarchy and I think it is hypocritical from the man that so veraciously attacked Parmenides' notions of virtue and how to teach it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the good is intangible and only defined by the situation in which its recognized. If I were to assign a concrete metaphor to it, I would say it is most like water, in that we need it to live, but we do not need it with every breath we take such as with something like air. Similarly, we need to recognize goodness in our daily lives consistently enough to affirm our normal state of being, hopefully one which involves acting on behalf of and acting to bring about this good in our lives. Water is the key element in bathing, a ritual which requires that the person enacting it was dirty enough before they got the desire to bathe that they felt the need to cleanse themselves of this dirtiness. Furthermore, the cultural associations that water has with cleanliness, thirst-quenching, luxury (such as the ocean or lakes), as well as baptism indicates that the subjective "good" we all use to judge the objective advantage of situations can be easily assimilated with water. Just as water is considered a pure medium with which we physically pursue happiness, the Good is considered a pure medium with which we psychologically attempt to gauge our happiness and its effect on those around us.
ReplyDeleteI believe the parrallels between the Allegory of the cave, the divided line and the Analogy of the Good Sun are that they both deal with seeing what is visible as truth. The Good Sun shines light on the world so that we see and know what is truely around us. The prisoner in the cave only knew what certain objects were by what he saw on the cave walls. When taken out of the cave into the real world he saw what these objects truely looked like because of the light from the sun. Having been in the darkness for a long time all he knew was the shadows on the wall as reality, but with the light from the sun in the outside world he can see more of what these objects truely look like.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the divided line, the sun, and the cave are paralleled by their almost vertical, linear aesthetics (when presented as they were in The Republic, with the cave leading UP to the sun, and the divided line dividing these polar opposites), the fact that the higher divisions in the divided line are occupied by intellectual ideals and intangible qualities, and the finally the fact that these divisions are directly analogous to the relative position of the sun in the sky, and the cave in the ground.
ReplyDeleteI think the allegory of the cave and the allegory of the good and the sun have a strong connection with the sun. In relation with the cave and the sun, the good is discovered when the people leave the cave and see the sunlight, which is too strong for their eyes (sometimes the truth is too strong for us to bear) and ho9w the sun shines brightly on some days, bringing everything to light.
ReplyDeleteMy analogy of the good would be called The Lion. The Lion (or the good) would be unshakable and unwavering in its demeanor. It would not have any hidden agendas or pretentious ways. The Lion would always stand firm for what is best for all, not just what is beneficial to the Lion itself, making it the reason the Lion is the king of the jungle (Good is the king of society). Without the Lion, the jungle and the other animals would suffer greatly. Also, The Lion would also be extremely generative, producing many offspring and teaching small cubs and other strong animals the proper way to rule the jungle
The Good is something we never think to define, though we have at one point or another, but it just exits. It’s something we may question, and not be certain of, but nonetheless we continue our lives based on the Good. The Good is different for everyone and is influenced by our family, social groups, ethnicity, and defining moments. We may have many factors that influence what the Good is, but we are still the ones to decide what it is. It seems unnecessary to compare the Good to anything else because it is the ultimate of all things, nothing really surpasses it. It is that which helps to define everything else.
ReplyDeleteThe Good can be compared to religion or religious beliefs. We all have certain religions we follow, they are “our Good” detailing how we should live our lives. We are not certain that our religion is the correct one to follow, but we still follow it.
The Analogy of the Good to the Sun, the Divided Line, and the Allegory of the Cave all share something in that they all suggest different levels of comprehension of the Good. In the Analogy of the Good to the Sun, just as the sun allows for the vision of beautiful things, and therefore renders vision possible at all, the Good makes the idea of beauty accessible to the human mind, and therefore makes human reason possible.
ReplyDeleteIn the Divided Line, its very clear that different levels of understanding exist in the human comprehension of the world, which all build upon each other. The lower levels of understanding make it possible for higher levels of understanding to be reached.
In the Allegory of the Cave, there are also different levels of understanding of the Good that may or may not be reached by a person, depending on that person's actions. If a person chooses to turn towards the light, the Good, then they can achieve a much greater understanding of the world that surrounds them.
I see the understanding of the Good in the way people try to understand the dead Latin language. I believe there could be a true, underlying Good that no one will ever fully understand as our societal norms blind us from a true perception. However, we should never stop striving to get as close to the truth as possible. While we will never know just exactly how the Latin language was spoken, we should continue to pursue an understanding of it. The Good is interpreted differently by every culture, just as the language was spoken slightly differently by each culture and society.
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