How do I know what I know?

Question 1:  Which main questions, concepts, and theories of epistemology are dealt with by your selected philosopher?

As a rationalist, Plato challenges inquiries of “what we know how we know” by centralizing the human mind (conscience and thought) as the essence of knowledge.  Plato often debates using his deceased mentor, Socrates, to honour Socrates’ reputation as a valuable teacher. True knowledge can be rediscovered deep within the mind; otherwise known as the World of Forms. He shows evidence of innate ideas in Platonic Doctrine of Recollection. In Plato’s book Republic he writes about the distinctions between knowledge and personal opinion. He uses numerous concepts and metaphors such as metaphor of the sun, the divided line, and the Allegory in the Cave. 

Plato theorized that seeking knowledge is independent from the physical world (world perceived by senses), there are two distinct worlds that reflect each other. "The domain where truth and reality shine resplendent," (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor_of_the_sun) is the World of Forms, Plato predicts, which is within your mind and sustains perfection; whereas, our sensory perception is linked to the visible world (the physical world). In the physical world of changing objects Plato sees it as “Everything in this world is always becoming something else, but nothing permanently is.” (Magee The Story of Philosophy 28) According to Plato, the World of Forms is the truest reality because the perception of the physical world is subject to error as it is constantly changing. This would mean we cannot fully rely on our sensory perception to reason but on our priori knowledge (independent thinking from the experience). Unlike the senses, the mind holds innate ideas that aren’t subject to alteration without the person’s consent. An example of priori knowledge is like early astronomers or land personnel guiding space robots; do not gain knowledge from experience when conducting reasoning of Life on Mars but are outside of the experience using tools like robots

In understanding Plato’s Ideals and Forms, he moulds the idea in the form of an aviary to enhance his message that the human mind is filled with flocks of knowledge that one can grasp:

“Let us now suppose that in the mind of each there is an aviary of all sorts of birds. Some flocking together apart from the rest, others in small groups, others solitary, flying anywhere and everywhere.... We may suppose that the birds are all kinds of knowledge, and that when we were children, This receptacle was empty; whenever a man has gotten and detained in the enclosure a kind of knowledge, he may be said to have learned or discovered the thing which is the subject of the knowledge: and this is to know.” (Philosophy textbook chapter 9 181)

The Platonic Doctrine of Recollection provides insight as to how a person of little to no intellect (a slave boy in this case) possesses knowledge but does not come into realization until the mind is intellectually challenged. The boy is asked a mathematical question and with the guidance of Socrates he eventually understands the question. The boy has never been taught geometry previously. Plato concludes the boy’s understanding of geometry is due to recollection. The mind must recollect the knowledge like in the journey the enlightened prisoner endures in Allegory of the Cave. Plato also adds that the brain that once held knowledge is trapped deep within the mind once a soul is placed in the body.

The Sun illustrates intellectual illumination. It guides our sense of sight, and without it, we would be blind to the physical world. Without the guidance of the sun, our minds can begin to understand how things are without relying on our eyes. In order to do this, we must place our focus in the World of Forms or trust our personal opinions consisting of reasonable justification to determine aspects of life we may have overlooked. The World of Forms is where true beings reside because it is independent from everything else in this universe and is a reliable source of knowledge. It is an important place to inquire and to draw personal conclusions

The Divided Line concept can be found in Republic. It is used to teach the four levels of existence. Plato’s line concept is a device to question existence that can be used in both the World of Forms and the physical world around us. The divided line has two parts: one to represent the World of Forms and another for the physical world. The lines are again divided; the World of Forms holds higher and lower forms, and the segments within the physical world represent visible objects and their reflections. The lines are unequal to represent “their comparative clearness and obscurity". ()When we observe and attend to something ordinary in our daily lives (a house) the lines’ degree of clarity represents whether we achieved knowledge or just an opinion.

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This concept leads to the next concept, Allegory of the Cave, which serves as a guide in the physical world. The story entails prisoners who are chained up who accept the reality within the cave because all their lives they have relied on posterior knowledge, obtaining knowledge after an experience. They witnessed shadows on the walls of the cave and mistook the shadows for the people encaging them. Their voices reinforced the illusion. By creating a false reality through opinions, Plato would underline that “Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance." (http://equotes.wetpaint.com/page/Plato+Quotes) He implies in the story that the journey towards knowledge ...

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