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coloringzebras
one big sex joke
Joined: 28 May 2008
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 Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:21 pm Post subject: explain to me Plato's view of reality |
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plato defines three levels of reality. high to low:
1.forums
2.material world
3.illusions.
let's use beauty as a concept. the ideal in forums is perfection, ultimate beauty. He states it's a constant journey to find in the real world. it's impossible. we have ideals of beauty but it's not what beauty really is in the material world.
another concept is a chair. we have an ideal of what a chair is, but in the material world a chair is an imperfect chair of the concept of a chair.
my question is (and my philosophy class couldn't supply me with an answer) what's the point of having feelings, naming them and describing them/with them if they will never be what we state them as?
what's the purpose of trying to be beautiful, if it's unattainable?
The allegory of the cave is used here to explain it. |
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Knight_of_BAAWA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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There is no point; that's because dual-realm metaphysics is a load of bullshit.
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Rortykiller
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:57 am Post subject: |
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Plato got tripped up, and he has since tripped up a lot of people. He created the ocular metaphor for metaphysics, namely that "we percieve reality". Somehow, when I say there is no reality, people think I'm some philosophy nihilist weirdo. Its not that gothic. Its just that creating the idea of reality as that which we percieve (failed or otherwise) sets up a realm of philosophical problems. The concept of reality is intangible and in a self-defeating way isn't perfect enough for the world of the forms.
don't get caught up with Plato, modern philosophy has a lot more to add to your life.
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"rights" are the modern recontextualizing of "holy"; a romanticized state of being beyond reproach. |
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coloringzebras
one big sex joke
Joined: 28 May 2008
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Local time: 9:22 PM
Location: Tennessee
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:07 am Post subject: |
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| thanks. |
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Philosophos
Do it
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: Re: explain to me Plato's view of reality |
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| coloringzebras wrote: | plato defines three levels of reality. high to low:
1.forums |
*CRIES!!!*
No. Not forums. Forms.
That putative typo made me claw my eyes out, so I'll type out the rest of my post with the help of a transcriptionist. She tells me she's kinda hot, so I've agreed to eat her out... not that I can tell at this point...
| Quote: | | my question is (and my philosophy class couldn't supply me with an answer) what's the point of having feelings, naming them and describing them/with them if they will never be what we state them as? |
Ummm... that's sorta like asking a Christian what's the point of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. It just doesn't compute. Your teleological question doesn't really fit within the ideology. Plato merely distinguishes between "true" and "false" causes in his teleology (e.g. see Phaedo).
And for specifics of the roles of "feelings", well, a good overview of that comes from learning Plato's ethics. And his ethics are well-summarized (as usual) in the Stanford Encyclopedia entry on the matter. There's a decent amount of talk about "feelings" there.
| Quote: | | what's the purpose of trying to be beautiful, if it's unattainable? |
Beauty is what most closely mimics a form. That's why Plato criticised poets in his Republic. They were essentially "liars". And not "useful liars". I personally find plenty of Greek poetry beautiful myself. But poets would be expelled under the kallipolis.
Or do you mean physical beauty?
| Quote: | | The allegory of the cave is used here to explain it. |
That allegory does not directly answer your questions IMO. Plato wrote more than just The Republic.
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