Applying Platos Allegory of the Cave Essay -- Plato, Philosophy, Phil

Applying Plato's Allegory of the Cave to Oedipus Rex, Hamlet,and Thomas Becket Plato was one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He is recognized all over the world as one of the greatest minds of all time. Knowledge is required under compulsion has not hold on the mind.(Durant 24). Plato's dialogues are the fruit of a rare mind; but the could not have kept their perennial freshness if they had not somehow succeeded in expressing he problems and the convictions that are common to Plato's age and to all later ages. Genius alone is not enough; or perhaps it were wiser to say that we recognize genius only in the power of divination that overleaps the boundaries of a special time and place.(Jowett xi). Although Plato did not come up with the Allegory of the Cave, Socrates did, he transcribed it. In their own ways, Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Thomas Becket, prove that one must break the chains of the cave to discover the truth. In view of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, several literary works contain characters who break from the shadows of the cave to witn ess "the real world". Plato's Allegory of the Cave, presents Socrates instructing one of his students to imagine that there was a cave that was totally dark, except from the light that comes from the entrance and from a fire. The student was instructed then to imagine that the inhabitants of the cave have their necks and legs chained to the wall, impossible for the inhabitants to move. The people who control the cave place objects in front of the fire so that the inhabitants of the cave only see the shadows of the objects that the people want them to see. The chained inhabitants never get to see the real objects, only the distorted images of the objects. Furthermore, the inhabitants of the cave perceive the distorted objects as real, not the actual objects as being real. Socrates, then tells the student to imagine if the inhabitants of the cave were suddenly freed of the chains. The inhabitants would be in agonizing pain, for the first time in their lives the individuals can stand and move their heads. Their bodies are not used to being in such positions. The inhabitants of the cave, now are able to behold the light glimmering outside the cave. The inhabitants who were only adapted to only darkness, perceive light. The light stabs at their eyes, it is too painful for these individ... ...the cave and witness the light of the real world, one will never get to see the harsh truth of their destiny. Works Cited Gibson, Anna Lee, "Allegory of the Cave." Advanced Placement English Writing Manual and Literary Guide. Ed. Jewell Worley and Frank Gentry. Wise: Wise County Vocational-Technical Center. 1992. The Canterbury Story. Anglicans Online. Http://www.anglican.org/online/uk-europe/lambeth/canterbury.html. 3 Dec., 1997. Jowett, Benjamin. The Dialogues of Plato. Ed. William Chase Green. New York: Liveright Publishing Company. 1954. Durant, Will. "The live and opinions of the greater philosophers." The Story of Philosophy. New York: Simon and Schuster Rockefeller Center. 1961. Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." England in Literature. Illinois: Scott, Foresman, and Company. 1987. Becket Murder. Hyperhistory. Online. Http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/ppersons5_n2/beck.html Stravinsky, Igor. Oedipus Rex . Online. Http://www.coc.ca/98stra-synopsis.htm. Jaspers, Carl. "Plato." The Great Philosophers. Ed. Hannah Arendt. New York: harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1962. Jowett, B. The Dialogues of Plato. New York: Random House. 1937.

Political Diversity as Manifested in the Jesse Jackson Presidential Bids Essay

Baptist Minister turned Illinois second district congressman Jesse Jackson made two attempts to become the Democratic Party nominee in 1984 and 1988. In the 1988 bid for the White House, Jackson was defeated by Senator Michael Dukakis for the Democratic nomination but not after showing strong in initial state nominating conventions. Jackson then capitalized his racial (black) circumstance and challenged political personalities and organizational corporations (Steele A19). Despite Jackson’s strong impact to the country and American people during that time, his candidacy was expectedly marred with controversies. In fact, if he pursued his bid around that period, Jackson would have been prevented from being a political leader or worst, ended up not winning at all. The reason behind this is what Walton wrote as the Critical Election Theory wherein Jackson’s efforts to be the first Black U. S. President were questioned. Based from the presupposition of the said theory, his position that it was time for blacks to have their ways into the Democratic Party nomination and eventually the White House was evaluated in a manner that it would hurt Jackson more apparently due to his egotistical endeavors (Walton 49). However, the political arena has changed for the past two decades. As Barker wrote, the concern and uncertainty brought by the emergence of the black power and an increased awareness on the need for change created another level of enthusiasm for people to support now the black bids in the likes of Jackson and now with Barack Obama (Barker 3). Had Jackson made the bid this year or if he was the Democratic Party candidate against Sen. John McCain, he could have won the presidency just like Obama. The situation that catapulted Obama to the White House could have also been smartly utilized by Jackson to kick out the incumbent Republican President George Bush. If Jesse Jackson was the Democratic Party nominee for the 2008 elections, he could have handily beaten McCain just as well. Like Obama, Jackson possesses the charms and eloquence which convinced Americans to go for change – change in their perception of politics, change in their views on racial discrimination, change to accept a new brand of leadership and change for a better and different United States of America. Obama was simply lucky that a confluence of events conspired to generate a feeling of anger and disgust in the hearts and minds of the American people on the mess created by President Bush who was perceived as insensitive and stubborn. Add to it McCain’s image of being conservative just like Bush. And both gentlemen were devastated by hurricane â€Å"Change† of Obama that in the process swept the Chicago first term congressman to the world’s most powerful post. Jesse Jackson should, in fact, be credited for paving the way for â€Å"non-whites† to be accepted by the Americans on the national scale. Yes, a lot of Black Americans, Asian Americans and European Americans, among others, won elective positions in several states but only few managed to be recognized as serious contenders for the United States presidency. With Obama’s victory, it won’t be difficult anymore for â€Å"colored† Americans to vie or the White House. America has truly matured into becoming the world’s melting pot of diverse cultures. Gone are the days that the whites dominate just practically all facets of American life. So when Jesse Jackson introduced himself as a Black presidential contender, it was just a matter of time before America installs a colored man or woman as their president. And just like Jackson, Barack Obama, despite his being a neophyte in politics, came at the right time when America was absolutely ready for change.

Descartes And John Locke s Views On Human Understanding

The body, mind, and soul are said to be capable of extraordinary properties that assist in human understanding. Renà © Descartes, and John Locke are two primary philosophers that have shaped modern philosophy with their views on human understanding. Both philosophers assumed that the proper function of human understanding relies upon processes within the body. The processes involved in this understanding are viewed distinctly by each philosopher. Descartes described that the mind and body interact between each other to form human understanding. To interpret the mind, and body processes, it is important to decipher what is contributed to each part. Descartes had certain criterion to determine whether a function belongs to the body, or mind. He believed that what is experienced, and physically seen belongs to the body; while everything else that is unable to belong to the body belongs to the mind, or soul (Descartes, 1998, p. 54-55). Due to this, Descartes insisted that nothing can be attributed to the mind, except two types of processes. The first type is actions, or volitions; the other type is passions, which are referred to as sensations and perceptions (Descartes, 1998, p. 54). Each type may be categorized into different processes. Actions are viewed as two different processes. One type is actions that are volitions produced from the mind, or soul (Descartes, 1998, p. 62). This type is considered to be the internal operations that are voluntarily controlled. The otherShow MoreRelatedJohn Locke s View On Identity963 Words   |  4 PagesHow is John Locke acknowledged in society? Rene Descartes became accredited by what? Well, people knew these men for their philosophical views, their views on identity varied undoubtedly. For example, Descartes famous line I think, therefore I am alludes to the fact that he most certainly exists. 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