Summary A* quality notes on ancient philosophical influences for RS OCR A-level
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Course
Philosophy
Institution
OCR
Extremely high-detailed and comprehensive A* philosophy notes including not only the content but also a whole range of relevant scholars, responses and pros and cons of the different arguments. Everything you would need for this topic!
A priori knowledge deduced/known without experience or observation.
A posteriori knowledge empirical knowledge based on experiences.
Rationalism primary source of truth and knowledge is reason.
Empiricism primary source of truth and knowledge is experience derived from the senses.
Absolutism - there is an absolute reality, independent of human knowledge; more fixed and real
than the one we experience through our senses.
Plato = rationalist and absolutist. True knowledge gained a priori.
Aristotle = empiricist. True knowledge gained a posteriori.
Allegory of the cave
Prisoners chained in cave since birth.
Cave = visible world.
Prisoners = ordinary people yet to discover true knowledge. Complacent and
unquestioning of their existence.
Chains = soul trapped in our body. We are held back from gaining true knowledge.
Figures pass in front of fire creating shadow play on the cave wall.
Shadow play = illusion created by our senses.
Shadows = our experience of earth.
Prisoner escapes and journeys out of the cave.
Escaped prisoner = philosopher, and journey = enlightenment to true knowledge.
Outside he sees real world illuminated by the sun.
“Real world” = Realm of the Forms where true knowledge can be found.
Sun = form of the good - the source of all truth.
Takes time to adjust to the light. Feels blinded and believes that new world is fake.
Returns to the cave and is unable to see the shadows clearly. Met with disdain and killed.
Returning = how philosophers seek to educate others of true reality.
Escapee’s death = Socrates, Plato’s mentor, was killed for his philosophical ideas.
Plato’s vision for society - described in his publication The Republic
, - Society benefits when run by philosopher-kings.
- All humans born with subconscious memory of the forms but remembering them through
e.g Socratic Method (questioning everything), critical thinking and dialectic takes time and
effort.
- Those who could, Guardians, would rise above the Craftspeople and Auxiliaries who were
incapable of remembering the forms.
- Negative or evil forms don’t exist within the spiritual world, so if philosopher-kings
understood and remembered the forms they could not rule in a negative manner.
- They can see the world “ten thousand times better than the inhabitants of the cave”.
Society run by those “who are truly rich” “in virtue and wisdom” not “silver and gold.”
Strengths of Plato’s allegory of the cave:
Descartes, another rationalist who concluded that everything can be doubted other than
our thinking, agrees that our senses are not a reliable source of knowledge. Our senses can
be deceived e.g a straight pencil behind a glass of water appears bent and our view on
reality is heavily influenced by our upringing - we see different things e.g a rich and poor
man looking at a £10 note. This suggests our empirical knowledge cannot be trusted and
that this reality is fake - a mere shadow of true reality.
However, scientists like Richard Dawkins would argue that humans have survived using our
senses for thousands of years. Our senses help us avoid danger or react quickly. They should
be trusted and are far more important than Plato’s makes out.
The journey out of the cave is difficult but the prisoner enjoys his new freedom, so the
reward is worth it. This encourages people to progress with hard, tedious self-
enlightenment.
Weaknesses of Plato’s allegory of the cave:
Plato argues that we cannot trust our senses but used his senses to come up with this
theory. By his logic, this theory cannot be trusted.
The Empiricist David Hume would argue that unlike our world where there is evidence of
existence, there is no empirical evidence for another world. Plato gives no justification for
this true reality. It could merely be a figment of his imagination. Until proven otherwise our
world is completely real and there is no reason to question it.
However, “absence of knowledge is not knowledge of absence.” Religious believers such as
St. Anselm or Thomas Aquinas are not stopped by a lack of empirical evidence.
It is too abstract and too elitist; education should not give a right to lead. It seems like a
long-winded plot to put Plato and his friends in power. Of course the philosopher believes
that philosophers should rule.
The prisoner would not want to return and rule, and would they rule fairly. Just because
someone knows true goodness doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t still give into selfishness or
greed.
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