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Posted by Peter Krowiak on September 06, 1999 at 01:27:18:
In Reply to: divided line theory HELP!!!! posted by HEATHER PALMER on September 03, 1999 at 12:46:00:
: COULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN PLATO'S THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE. I THINK THAT I GRASP IT BUT THEN IT IS GONE. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WAY IT IS SET UP. MY SECOND QUESTION WOULD BE HOW DOES THIS THOERY APPLY TO ETHICS? PLEASE IST MY LEARNING.
Well, your question on the board asks of Plato's divided line which isn't exactly his theory of knowledge (though knowledge is a part)....the Divided Line is EVERYTHING. It's hard to just explain the Divided Line.....it's much easier to draw it, so that's what I'm gonna try and do.
THE
GOOD
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Intellection | Ideas (the forms
__________|_________
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Thinking | Mathematics
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_______________|_______________
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Trust | Things
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________|________
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Imagination | Images
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So there it is....The Divided Line. The left side shows how the right side is manifested within us. Ex, we use Imagination when dealing with Images, we use Trust when dealing with Things. The top half of the DL deals more with thinking, while the bottom half deals more with everyday things. So, I'll start from the bottom. IMAGES are things like paintings, tv, art, etc. We use our IMAGINATION in order to understand and see these images. THINGS are just that, things. THINGS are the physical world around us, from the chair that I'm sitting on to the keyboard I'm typing on. We use TRUST when dealing with THINGS. For example, when I walk into my room and go to sit in my chair, I sit down on it because I trust that it will hold me and that it is really there. Once you stop trusting things, then you pretty much either lose your mind or are really high on some kinda drug. MATHEMATICS isn't just algebra and calc. MATHEMATICS involves all logical systems, like science, math, and logic. While dealing with the relm of MATHEMATICS, we are THINKING. We use a string of thoughts to understand a concept, whether it is an equation, the structure of DNA, or anything else in that vein. IDEAS (or, the Forms) are the highest (aside from The Good) on the scale. When dealing with IDEAS in their purest form, INTELLECTION must be used. It's more than just thinking which is a logical string. It's part thinking, part inspiration, part genius (I could go on). At the top of it all is The Good. The Good is what shines down upon the whole thing. Think of The Good as the Sun shining upon the whole line, allowing us the necessary light in order to see everything. Most of humanity spends its time in the middle area of the Divided Line (Trust and Thinking). We never see The Good, though we see it's effects. We also don't spend very much time in the Intellection area.
The Divided Line isn't as much about ethics as it is about explaining the whole world around us and how we react/act towards it. Anyway, hope that helped you a little bit.
Sincerely,
Peter Krowiak
Philosophy Major at Boston University