Diagram of the cave:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/plato/caveframes.htm
Professor Presentation:
Introductory points: source, setting, speakers, dialectic
Title: Allegory vs. symbolism
Questions for Small Group Discussion
Directions: Get into your established groups and spend 10 minutes discussing one of the following questions. Sit in a circle. Take notes.
Group One: What is the allegorical meaning of the following details: cave, shadows, light (fire, sun), bonds, cave dwellers?
Group Two: What does Plato say about persons who view the light?
Group Three: What happens to a person who makes it out of the cave and then returns? Why would such a person want to return? If he returns, what is the result?
Group Four: In the paragraph that spans pages 4 and 5, explain why Homer says that someone would prefer to be a serf. What are the implications of this point for the cave dwellers and those who see the light? What homology emerges? (Homology: As A is to B, so C is to D.)
Group Five: What is Plato saying about education in the paragraph that spans pages 5 and 6 and in the paragraph on page 6 that begins, "'But the present argument...'"? What types of education does Plato identify?
Further Questions for Large-Group Discussion
How, then, does "The Allegory" make a statement about education? What is the nature of learning? Of truth? What metaphors does "The Allegory" use to represent education and learning?
How is Plato's text an allegory of your own education/life? Are you arranging the shadows on the wall, or are you striving toward the light?
Do you see connections to The Matrix?
Link to paper topics: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/GNED%20102/GNED%20102%20Suggested%20Paper%20Topics.htm
Before you leave today, exchange e-mail addresses and phone numbers with the persons in your group. Remember that the folks in Group One need to make an appointment with me to talk about Mill's text next week.