GOVT-105 FA2 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Glaucon, Bad Life
6 Mar 2017
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Govt-105 - textbook note - the republic, book vii. Humans dwell in a cave their entire life and are bound so they can only see in front of them. There is a fire above and behind them and a wall which other humans walk along carrying objects. The people in the cave only see the shadows cast by the fire on the side of the cave facing them. If they hear noises from a passing person they believe that the passing shadow has made the sound. Such men believe that the truth is nothing other than the shadows of artificial things. Socrates says to consider how such people could be released from their ignorance. A man who was released and turned toward the light would be in pain and unable to make out the things he saw the shadow of. He wouldn"t understand and would believe that what he saw before was truer than what he now sees.
