Fun With Early Western Philosophy

I found myself in an instant-messaging conversation about Plato's The Republic the other night. On the other end were a senior, a junior, and at least one freshman from my alma mater, who were inquiring about the Republic because it has long been part of the college's Freshman Studies program. The topics of pedagogical agony for the night were the metaphors for knowledge and thinking, the "divided line" and the famous allegory of the Cave. (Stephanus pages 509d-521b).

I always enjoy talking about this work with people who haven't encountered Plato or the Republic before, especially this particular segment of the book, because it offers an opportunity to introduce and question themes that repeat themselves in Western philosophy and that also turn up in Eastern philosophy. Just those eighteen or so pages of the text raise the question of what one considers to be "knowledge" and the extent to which people can possess it. That's only the fundamental question of epistemology. Plato's discussion of knowledge can be used to illustrate a kind of correspondence theory of truth and to discuss what that might entail as opposed to other theories. Even if going that far sets some students' heads spinning, it's still fun to play with those ideas to the extent that people are ready.

Well, at least I think so.