Plato's Cave Analogy

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Plato's Cave Analogy

Postby Sideshow » Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:55 am

Has anyone here read Plato's Republic, and thought that his cave analogy seemed awfully similar to becoming aware of other dimensions? I was re-reading it last night and it struck me as... odd.

For those who have not read it, in his analogy Plato argued that all we see is but a poor reflection of what objects really are. He likened it to captives raised from birth in a cave, facing a wall, unable to turn their heads. Behind them fire illuminates the cave, and in-between the fire and themselves people constantly move, carrying various objects. To the prisoners who can only view the wall in front of them, it appears as if the shadows are the real objects. Thus all they know is based off of these moving shadows. Plato then argues that if somehow one of the captives was released from his bonds, and shown what things really were, he would be amazed and confused, and at first not know what to make of any of it. If asked to point out which objects were causing the shadows, which he had taken for reality all of his life, he would be unable to. Eventually he would come to accept these new objects as reality and see the shadows for what they were, but it would be quite a process.

There's more to it but that's the Reader's Digest version. I can pick out more than a few similarities between this and trying to visualize or comprehend the fourth dimension. What do the rest of you think, and might there be anything to learn from it?
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Re: Plato's Cave Analogy

Postby Nick » Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:48 pm

Sideshow wrote:Has anyone here read Plato's Republic, and thought that his cave analogy seemed awfully similar to becoming aware of other dimensions? I was re-reading it last night and it struck me as... odd.


I think you missed the point of the passage, but it is an interesting thought. The people have only seen 2d shadows their entire life; so could it be said that they have the mind of a flatlander? Can they imagine 3d?

I'm not really sure...
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Re: Plato's Cave Analogy

Postby Sideshow » Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:08 am

No I understood the passage, but having just come from reading these forums, it seemed like a good analogy.

Anyways, they would probably have some sort of headache when they got around to seeing things properly.
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