Plato Cave
Plato's complex and multi-layered conception of knowledge and truth is illustrated by his most famous imagery and analogy- The Cave Allegory. As revealed in his greatest and most influential work, The Republic, the core of the story is as follows: "Imagine you have been imprisoned for the rest of your life in a dark cave. Your hands and feet are shackled. Your head is stuck. As a result, you can only stare at the wall right in front of you. Behind you, there is a blaze. Between you and the fire, there is a corridor where the people holding you show off statues and other objects. Shadows that are reflected on the wall by them are the only things you and your fellow prisoners have ever seen, everything you've ever thought and talked about. Now suppose you are freed from the shackles and free to walk around the cave. Fascinated by the fire at first, you will gradually begin to see the real cave situation and understand the origin of the shadow you previously thought was real. And finally, you are allowed to leave the cave and meet with the bright outer world, where you see the perfection of reality illuminated by the brightest thing in the sky, the sun."
As is usually interpreted, the cave is 'the world being' - the real world of our daily experience, where all things are imperfect and ever-changing. In addition, the ordinary people, symbolized by chained prisoners, lead life by speculation and illusion (shadows). Freed prisoners wandering within the cave reach the most accurate picture of the reality possible in this deceptive world. But only when he moves out of the cave, into the 'world exists', the human comes to a complete understanding of the world and truth. The world is inhabited by the perfect and eternal objects of knowledge, the forms, and most important of them is the form of goodness, represented by the sun, which gives to others its ultimate meaning and reality.
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Platonic Love
The main characteristic of nonphysical or 'platonic' love is the idea that is most closely intertwined with Plato in the popular imagination. The idea flowed naturally from the sharp distinction between the world of intellect and the sensory world that Plato described in his philosophy. In Phaedrus's dialogue, Plato explains how a true lover feels fiery for the inspired divine love of intellectual beauty, found only in the form of kindness. Such beloved souls are can be compared to a battle car where the driver, who symbolizes reason, controls a pair of winged horses, representing our sensual and spiritual desires, to move toward the ultimate truth. Much later religious thought has been colored by Plato's elevation of mind from the body. In addition, it is also characterized by the idea that emphasizes that moral excellence is settled in a well-regulated soul that becomes the place of pure intellect to control the lower physical tastes.
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