“Astronomy compels the soul to look upward and leads us from this world to another.”
From “The Republic” by Plato, 380 BC
I recently came across this quote and felt “compelled ” to share:)
Not that it specifically relates to my new post, which will follow this one, but ultimately, it relates to every discussion that will take place on this site. Depending on how one interprets terms like ‘”soul” and “world” and whether you take them as literal or metaphorical, it will always lead us back here. Thanks, Plato. Bet you never thought something you said back in 342 would be quoted in 2016 but it may be more relevant now than ever.
By the way, “The Republic” is one heck of a book, manifesto or whatever you want to call it and is actually considered to be part of what is called a Socratic Dialogue. Not that I am that knowledgeable in Philosophy but I did take a course in University and quite liked it –also a course in the Humanities –both of which touched on Plato. So in the course of my research for this post, I found something called “Sparks Notes” on the Republic ( whatever happened to Coles Notes or is this the digital version? ) and was quite enlightened. Suffice to say that Plato was one heck of a wise and forward thinking guy. And if you are inclined to take a look at a philosophical conundrum that will really give you something to think about, look up the section called “The Sun, the Line, the Cave”. ( there are 10 books that comprise The Republic ) . You will asked to consider the plight of a group of people who are confined to a dark and deep cave and can only see what is straight ahead of them. Behind them is a fire with a partial wall behind it. On that wall, a series of statues of varying shapes and sizes are moved around by an unseen force. The people only see the shadows and that is their reality. One day, a member of the group is let out and for the first time, looks upward to the light and sees the Sun. It goes on from there but I think you can see where this is going…
Hmm…maybe actually more of Plato’s work than the opening quote could relate to the discussion on this site? I guess it all depends on how you look at it.
