PLATO & MATRIX NOTES
The cave allegory:
Education
Religious enlightenment
The womb
Boddhisattva
·
Knowledge—we already know
everything because everything emanates from one source from which we all come: the Good.
The mind must be trained to re-collect.
·
Question everything.
·
Lethe= the stream of
forgetfulness from which we must drink before moving on to another life. aleqh (alethe) = Gr. word for truth…literally means not
forgetting.
·
For Plato, truth is a
re-collecting, a re-membering in which we reassemble our knowledge that is
embedded deep in our mind.
·
In other words, Plato
believes that knowledge is simply a matter of remembering what we already know
by putting the pieces back together again.
Oracle—Above
the entrance to the Oracle at Delphi are inscribed the words gnvqi sauton, “Know yourself.”
·
The oracles of all time are
renowned for predicting future events through enigmatic, cryptic responses.
·
The receiver of their
prophecy must always interpret the meaning.
·
Many times, the oracle’s
response if formulated as a paradox where opposite interpretations are equally
true. But whatever oracle says is
always true.
·
In the ancient world,
everyone, from the lowest to the highest echelon, consulted the oracle about
major decisions.
·
In the ancient world, no
self-respecting ruler would attempt to launch a military campaign without first
consulting the oracle.
·
History as well as
literature recounts numerous instances when the overblown bravado or
egomaniacal tendencies of the ruler (hubris) leads to their downfall.
·
Oracle @ Delphi—vapors from
the earth. Goes into a trance. Speaks
for Apollo (sun god)
·
Sibyl of Cumae—prophesies
Christ’s arrival/Sibylline books
Oracle & Socrates
Oracle & Oedipus
Greek tragedy: moment of recognition when all comes into
sharp focus
Aristotle’s Poetics & hero pattern
Sense apparent reality is
an illusion. Cannot trust your senses
to tell you the truth. Sense apparent
reality is always interpretive.
(mirage, holograms, sun
revolves around earth) (What we
consider something’s color is actually that which is not contained within the
thing itself; it only appears to be that color. In truth, a color becomes
manifest because it is the one color not absorbed into the thing itself; it is
literally reflected, cast off by the thing.)
Truth = correspondence b/w
that which exists independent of our perception of it and our correct appraisal
of its reality. Our senses are the
gateways through which truth must pass for us to have knowledge of it; can get
misunderstood because of the interference of these filters.
Reality & truth are not
subject to interpretation.
Objective. Whether we perceive
it rightly or wrongly doesn’t change the truth or reality of it.
What we know, or think we
know, is a function of perception; therefore, knowledge can only be recovered
by training the mind to see through reason and logic.
Plato & Homer:
Plato advocates
overthrowing the Homeric concept of the gods as capricious, jealous, and
combative because these are negative influences on society. Plato overthrows these notions in the final
chapter of The Republic with the myth
of Er.
Plato & Music:
Plato advocates censoring
any music that does not beautify the soul (i.e., the aulos used for satyr
plays). Because music has such power
over the emotions, Plato wants only “good” music that will not corrupt the
spirit to be allowed.
Plato & Art:
Art is a mere imitation of
the material world and since the material world is already removed from
reality, he considers art to be even further from the truth than worldly
illusion.
( See also: Eleusian fields: where good souls go when they die to reap their eternal reward.
& Hades: the underworld where
shades wander aimlessly until they receive a cup of blood. [Odysseus in the underworld: books X & XI])