Plato's Republic Volume 7 (1): Education (Enlightenment)-Metaphor of Prisoner's Cave

republic

[Ancient Greece] By Plato

What about Zhang? translate

Yilin Publishing House; 20 12-07?

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The text is about 5500 words; The pure numbers and capital letters in brackets are the labels of the original book, which is convenient for finding words;

After the title version, add: black bold text version; There are dots under the original green book;

Directory: Yang Yuanping.

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abstract:

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The last thing to see in the known world, and it takes a lot of effort to finally see it, is the concept of goodness. . . It is indeed the reason why everything is right and beautiful, that is, the person who creates light and light source in the visible world is itself the decisive source of truth and reason in the sensible world; Anyone who can act rationally in private or public life must have seen the idea of goodness. (245 pages)

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Anyone with brains will remember that there are two kinds of blindness in eyes, which are caused by two corresponding reasons: one is from bright to dark, and the other is from dark to bright. Anyone with a brain will believe that the same thing will happen to the soul.

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Education is not what some people claim in their careers. They claim that they can instill knowledge into their souls that they didn't have before, just as they can put their eyesight into the eyes of the blind. (246 pages)

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There is a kind of bad guy who is usually described as smart. Have you noticed how sharp their eyes are? Their souls are small, but their eyesight is sharp enough for those things that attract their attention. Their "smallness" lies not in their poor eyesight, but in their eyesight being forced to serve evil. As a result, the sharper their eyesight, the more bad things they do. (247 pages)

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Our legislation is not for the special happiness of any class in the city-state, but for the happiness of the whole country. (248 pages)

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The fact is that in the city-state where the people designated as rulers are least enthusiastic about power, there must be the best and most stable management, while in the opposite city-state with rulers, management must be the worst. "

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If the future rulers are poor people who lack personal welfare, what they want to join the public service is to grab their own interests. If the country is ruled by such people, there will be no good management. Because, when sovereignty becomes the object of contention, this fratricidal struggle often destroys both the country and the ruler himself. (249 pages)

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We are the ones who don't love power. Otherwise there will be a struggle between opponents.

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Besides those who know how to run the country best, who else can you force to be responsible for guarding the city-state besides those who have other remuneration and a better life than political life? (p250)？

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Volume seven? ( 1)

Education (Enlightenment) —— Metaphor of Prisoner's Cave

P242

Sue: Next, we compare the essence of educated people and uneducated people to the following situation. (5 14) Let's imagine a cave-like basement with a long passage leading to the outside and letting in bright light as wide as the cave. Some people have lived in this cave since childhood. (b) With his head and legs tied, he could not walk or turn his head, but looked at the back wall of the cave. Let's imagine that far behind them, something is burning and giving off flames. Between the fire and the prisoner, there is a road above the cave. A low wall was built by the roadside. The role of the low wall is like a barrier set by puppet performers between themselves and the audience. They put puppets on the fence to perform.

G: I see it.

Sue: Next, let's imagine some people walking over the wall with all kinds of appliances. (5 15) Some people still hold dummies and fake animals made of wood, stone or other materials. And these passers-by, as you can expect, some are talking and some are not talking.

G: What you said is a strange metaphor and some strange prisoners.

Sue: No, they are just like us. Tell me, what do you think these prisoners can see about themselves or their companions except the shadow cast by the fire on the opposite cave wall?

G: How can they see anything else if their heads and necks are restricted from turning all their lives? (2)

P243

Sue: So, people on the road behind are holding things from the past. Besides their shadows, can prisoners see anything else?

G: Of course not.

Sue: So, if prisoners can talk to each other, don't you think they will come to the conclusion that when they talk about the shadows they see, they are talking about the real thing itself?

G: That's for sure.

Sue: Also, if a passerby makes a noise and causes an echo on the cave wall opposite the prisoner, don't you think the prisoner will conclude that it is caused by a moving shadow on the opposite cave wall?

G: They will certainly come to such a conclusion.

Sue: So, there is no doubt that such a person will not think of any other reality except shadows.

G: There is no doubt about it.

Sue: So, please imagine what would happen to them if they were released from prison and corrected their mistakes. What do you think will happen if one of them is released from the shackles and forced to suddenly stand up, turn around, walk around and look up at the fire? He will feel pain when doing these actions, and because of his dazzling, he can't see the real thing, he only sees the shadow. If someone told him (d) that what he had seen before was completely false, and now he is closer to reality because he has been distorted into a more real object, what do you think he would say? Don't you think that if someone showed him everything on the wall in the past and forced him to say what it was, he wouldn't know what to say at this moment, and he would think that the shadow he saw in the past was more real than the real thing he saw now?

G: much more real!

Sue: If he is forced to look at the fire itself, his eyes will feel pain and he will turn and walk away. (e) He will still flee to those images that he can see clearly and really think are clearer and more real than others have indicated. Isn't it?

G: That will happen.

P22

Sue: In addition, if someone drags him up a steep and rugged slope until he is dragged out of the cave and sees the sunshine outside, and he is not allowed to go back halfway, he will feel very painful and annoyed because he is forced to go, (516); When he comes to the sun, he will feel that Venus is jumping around in front of him, so that he can't see anything that is now called real. Don't you think so?

G: Oh, it's really not immediately obvious.

Sue: So I think if he can see from a height outside the cave, he needs a gradual adaptation process. First of all, it is probably the easiest to see shadows. Secondly, it is easy to see the reflection of people and other things in the water. Thirdly, it is easy to see things themselves. (b) After all this, he probably feels that it is better to observe the sky and the sky itself at night and see moonlight and starlight than during the day? It's easy to see the sun and sunshine.

G: of course.

Sue: In this way, I think he can finally watch the sun directly and see its truth, so that he can see its true colors in its original place without looking at it through reflections or images in the water or images displayed in any other media.

G: That's for sure.

Sue: Then he may come to the conclusion that this leads to the alternation of seasons and age cycles. (c) It is this sun that dominates everything in the visible world, which is why they used to see all those things through some twists and turns.

G: Obviously, he is likely to come to this conclusion.

Sue: If he thinks back to the original cave, the intellectual level at that time and his imprisoned companions, don't you think he will be glad for this change and feel sorry for his companions?

G: I will.

Sue: If there is an election among prisoners, some people win honors in the election. (d) Those who are sensitive to the distinction and can best remember the usual order of past images, so they can best predict what images will appear next. (p245) Do you think this liberated person will be keen on this kind of reward again? Will he envy those who are respected by prisoners, become their leaders, and compete with them for power there? Or, as Homer said, would you rather be a slave to the poor and live in the world and suffer, than live your life again with the prisoners? (5)

P245

G: I think he would rather endure any pain than live like a prisoner again.

Sue: What do you think will happen if he goes back to the grave and sits in his original position? Because he suddenly left the sun and went into the crypt, won't his eyes be blinded by darkness?

G: That's for sure.

Sue: At this time, his eyesight is still blurred, and he hasn't had time to get used to the darkness-he will get used to it soon. (5 17) If someone takes this opportunity to ask him to compete with the people who have been locked in the crypt for "evaluation", won't he be laughed at? People won't say that he broke his eyes when he came back from the top, and even the idea of going up is not worth it, right? If we can catch and kill the man who intends to release them and take them there, won't they kill him?

G: They will.

Three? Sue: Dear Glaucon, now we must apply this metaphor to the whole thing mentioned above, comparing crypt cells to the visible world and fire to the power of the sun. (b) If you associate the process of ascending from the crypt to the upper world and seeing things on it with the process of ascending from the soul to the knowable world, you will understand my explanation correctly, because you are eager to hear my explanation. As for whether this explanation itself is right or not, only God knows. But in any case, I think that in the known world, the last thing I see, and it takes a lot of effort to finally see, is the concept of goodness. (c) Once we see it, we will certainly come to the following conclusion: it is indeed the cause of all right and beautiful things, that is, the creator of light and light source in the world, which itself is the decisive source of truth and reason in the sensible world; Anyone who can act rationally in private or public life must have seen the idea of goodness.

P246

G: As far as I understand it, I agree.

Sue: Well, come on, you can agree with me. Don't be surprised to see that those who reach this height are unwilling to do those trivial things. (d) Their hearts are always eager to stay at the real height. If our metaphor is appropriate, this situation should not be surprising.

G: no wonder.

Sue: Besides, if someone returns to personnel from God's observation; When he can't see things and hasn't adapted to the dark environment, (e) he is forced to argue with others about the shadow of justice or the idol that produces the shadow in court or other places, and debate the concept of justice in the minds of people who have never seen justice itself. Do you think it strange if he looks ugly and acts funny when he does this?

G: It's not surprising.

Sue: (5 18) However, people with brains will remember that there are two kinds of blindness in eyes, which are caused by two corresponding reasons: one is from bright to dark, and the other is from dark to bright. Anyone with a brain will believe that the same thing will happen to the soul. When he sees that a soul is blind and can't see clearly, he won't laugh at it without thinking. He will examine whether the vision of the soul is lost by unaccustomed darkness because it has left a brighter life or because it has left the darkness of ignorance and entered a brighter world. (b) More light makes it lose its sight? So he will think that one kind of experience and life path is happy, and another kind of experience and life path is poor; If he wants to laugh, then the bottom-up one is not as ridiculous as the top-down one.

G: What you said is very reasonable.

Four? Sue: If this is correct, then we must have the following views on these things: academic qualifications are not what some people claim in their careers. They claim that (c) they can instill knowledge into their souls that they didn't have before, as if they could put their eyesight into the eyes of the blind.

P247

G: They did say that.

Sue: But our current debate shows that knowledge is an ability in everyone's soul, and the organs that everyone uses for learning are like eyes. -the whole body does not change direction, and the eyes cannot leave the darkness and turn to the light. Similarly, the soul as a whole must stay away from the changing world until its "eyes" can look at reality positively and are the brightest of all realities, which is what we call goodness. Is that so?

G: yes.

Sue: So there may be a skill of soul transfer, that is, the skill of soul transfer as easily and effectively as possible. It is not to create vision in the soul, but to affirm that the soul itself has vision, but it thinks that it can't correctly grasp the direction, or that it is not looking at the direction it should look at, so it tries its best to turn it around.

G: I think I have this skill.

Sue: So, other so-called virtues of the soul seem to be very close to the advantages of the body. The advantages of the body are not innate, but cultivated through education and practice. (e) However, the advantages of the mind do seem to have a more sacred nature, and it is something that will never lose its ability; Depending on the direction taken, it can become useful and beneficial, or it can become useless and harmful. (5 19) There is a bad guy who is usually said to be smart. Have you noticed how sharp their eyes are? Their souls are small, but their eyesight is sharp enough for those things they notice. Their "smallness" lies not in their poor eyesight, but in their eyesight being forced to serve evil. As a result, the sharper their eyesight, the more bad things they do.

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The meaning of the word "small" is similar to that of China's so-called "gentleman and villain".

G: It's true.

Sue: However, assuming that this part of the soul has been tempered since childhood, it always seems to have unloaded a heavy burden, which is inherent in this changing world. (2) It is sensual indulgence, such as gluttony, that makes people's souls only see the following things. Assuming that the burden has been removed, then the same part of some people's souls has been distorted to the truth, and they will have the same keen eye to see the truth, just as they are now facing things.

P248

G: Very likely.

Sue: Then, those who have no education and don't know the truth, and those who are allowed to engage in knowledge research all their lives, are incapable of governing the country. Isn't this conclusion quite right, and it is also the inevitable conclusion of the above theory? Because uneducated people can't concentrate all their public and private activities on one life goal; Intellectuals can't take the initiative to do anything practical, but imagine that they have left this world and entered heaven when they are still alive.

G: that's right.

Sue: Therefore, our duty as the founder of this country (d) is to force the best souls to reach the highest knowledge we mentioned before, see the good and rise to that height; And when they reach this height and have seen enough, we will not let them do what they are allowed to do now.

G: What do you mean?

Sue: Stay up there and don't want to go down to find the prisoners. Work with them, big or small.

G: You mean that when they can live a higher life, we should let them live a lower life?

VE？ Sue: My friend, you forget that our legislation is not for the special happiness of any class in the city-state, but for the overall happiness of the whole country. It uses persuasion or coercion to make all citizens coordinate with each other and make them share the benefits they can provide for the collective. (520) Moreover, it created such people in the polis, with the purpose of preventing them from going their own way and uniting them into an inseparable polis citizen collective.

G: I forgot. You're absolutely right.

P249

Sue: Well, Glaucon, you have to see that we won't be unfair to philosophers who appear among us; It is also fair for us to force them to care for and protect other citizens. We will tell them: "Philosophers born in other countries have reason to refuse to take part in hard political work because they are completely spontaneous and not consciously cultivated by the government;" (2) All self-reliant and untrained talents owe no gratitude to anyone, so it is natural that they are not eager to repay the kindness they have cultivated. But we have trained you-for yourselves and other citizens of the polis-to be the leaders of the queen bee and the hive; You have received a better and more complete education than others and have greater ability to participate in two kinds of life. Therefore, each of you should go down to live with others during the rotation period and get used to watching blurred images. It should be noted that once you get used to it, you will see more clearly than them, you will distinguish different shadows and know what the shadows reflect, because you see the truth of truth, goodness and beauty. Therefore, our country will be clearly managed by us and you, instead of being in a daze like most countries today. (d) It will be ruled by those who fight each other for shadow and quarrel with each other for power-it is regarded as the greatest goodness. The fact is that in the city-state where the people designated as rulers are least enthusiastic about power, there must be the best and most stable management, while in the opposite city-state with rulers, management must be the worst. "

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(1) Philosophical life and political life.

G: of course.

Sue: So, when our students hear this, will they still disobey and refuse to share the hard work of managing the country when it is everyone's turn to be on duty (on the other hand, of course, they are still allowed to live together most of the time)?

G: It is impossible to refuse. Because we demand justice from just people. (e) However, contrary to the current rulers of every country, they must regard holding public office as an obligatory thing.

Sue: Because, in fact, dear friends, only when you can find a better life for your future ruler than ruling the country, (52 1)(p250) can you have a well-managed country. Because only in this country can truly rich people rule. Of course, they are not rich, but the kind of kind and intelligent life necessary for happiness. If the future rulers are poor people who lack personal welfare, what they want to join the public service is to grab their own interests. If the country is ruled by such people, there will be no good management. Because, when sovereignty becomes the object of contention, (b) this fratricidal struggle often destroys both the country and the ruler himself.

P250

G: You couldn't be more right.

Sue: Besides the real philosophical life, what else can you name to despise political power?

G: I really can't lift it.

Sue: But we are the ones who don't love power. Otherwise there will be a struggle between opponents.

G: of course.

Sue: So, besides those who know how to run the country best, besides those who have other remuneration and a better life than political life, who can you force them to be responsible for guarding the polis?

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G: there is no one else.

Vic. Sue: So, do you want us to study the following questions? How to cultivate such talents? How to bring them to the bright world above and make them rise from the ground to the sky like the people in the story?

G: of course.

Sue: It doesn't seem as easy as flipping the shell in the game. This kind of mind has changed from the hazy dawn to the real daylight, and has risen to what we call the real philosophical reality.

G: There is no doubt about it.

Sue: So, shouldn't we study what kind of knowledge has this ability?

G: of course. (4)

(To be continued)

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About the author?

Plato (Greek: π λ? τ ω ν, about 427 BC-347 BC) Plato also translated into Pareto (Plato, Greek: π λ? τ ω ν)-an ancient Greek philosopher, is also one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers in the whole western philosophy and even the whole western culture. ?

Origin of the name: Plato's original name was Aristo Russ, but why was it renamed Plato? Tracing back to the source, Aristole grew up with a strong body, big chest and wide shoulders. So the PE teacher named him Plato, which means "broad" in Greek. Later, Plato's name was extended and has been popular ever since. Plato was born in Athens and studied under Socrates when he was young.

After Sue's death, she traveled around the world and engaged in political activities in Egypt, Asia Minor and southern Italy in an attempt to realize her noble political ideal. After the failure of his activities in 387 BC, he fled back to Athens, established a college near a gymnasium called Agal College, and taught there for 40 years until his death. He has written a lot in his life, and his teaching thoughts are mainly concentrated in Republic and Law.

Encyclopedia of MBA Think Tank (/)

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catalogue

Plato on justice ... 1

The first volume ... 1

Volume II ... 39

Volume III ... 74

The fourth volume ... 120

The fifth volume ... 159

Volume VI ... 203

Volume VII ... 242

Volume VIII ... 377

Volume 9 ... 3 12

Volume 10 ... 343

Index ... 379

One of the gazetteers ... 389

Toponymic index II ... 395

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The above is for reference only, thank you!

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I have become a servant of the church according to the stewardship that God gave me for you, so as to spread the word of God, the hidden mysteries from generation to generation. This mystery has been revealed to all his saints. (Colossians 1:25-26 new translation)

I have been entrusted by God to be a servant of God, and I want to tell you the word of God completely. This mystery has been hidden for generations, but now it is revealed to the people of the Lord. (Colossians 1:25-26)

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