UGFN1000

In Dialogue with Nature

與自然對話
Plato, Republic
David Lindberg, The Beginnings of
Western Science
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 Polling
• Do you have any experience of doubting the
reality of the world?

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 The Matrix
• 《廿二世紀殺人網絡》
• 1999
• Polling…
• Connection to Plato’s
allegory of the cave
• https://youtu.be/VVro5w
xqh4U

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 What is “real”?
• What is “real”? How do you define “real”?
• If you’re talking about what you can feel,
what you can smell, what you can taste, and
see, then “real” is simply electrical signals
interpreted by your brain.”

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 PASS session today
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Peer Assisted Study Session

 PASS session: NZ (for UGFN1000Z) (Cantonese)
 Date & time: 13 Jan (Fri) 15:30–16:30
 Venue: ERB_402
 PASS Leader: Aaron Yuen ( 袁尚成 )
Why PASS?
 Improve understanding of the texts
 Learn the effective reading strategies
Help you prepare better for tutorials, quizzes and
assignments. Higher grade! 
The course grades of students who participated in PASS throughout
the semester were increased by about one sub-grade!
Core Question

Why truth matters?

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 Today
• Beginning of ancient Greek philosophy
• Plato’s life and his philosophy
• “Allegory of the cave” and its implications

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Odyssey 《奧德賽》
• (UGFH1000)
• The major ancient Greek epic poem
attributed to Homer. (Near the end of
the 8th century BC)
– Cf. Plato (428 BC – 348/47 BC)
• The Greek hero Odysseus ( 奧德修 )
and his long journey home following
the fall of Troy
• Alternately obstructed and aided by the
gods
• Divine intervention
– Nothing could be safely predicted
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Beginning of ancient Greek philosophy
• Early in the 6th century BC, a radically new way of thinking in
Greek culture emerged
• Concern for evidence
• Claims were open to dispute and needed to be defended
• Speculations over a broad subject matter
– e.g. the cosmos and its origins, celestial bodies, earthquakes, thunder,
lightning, diseases, the nature of human knowledge

Science began with the wondering

and understanding of Nature
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Beginning of ancient Greek philosophy
• The early Greek philosophers did not Heraclitus 赫拉克利特
personify Nature (fl.500 BC) on eclipses
• The gods disappeared from their
explanations of natural phenomena
– A new set of answers
• A search for unity behind diversity and
order behind chaos
• Searching for an orderly, predictable
world
– What is changeless? Later philosophers:
• Cf. modern scientists cosmic shadow
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 Plato 柏拉圖

• 428 BC – 348/47 BC
• Classical Greek philosopher
• Mentor: Socrates 蘇格拉底
• Student: Aristotle 亞里士多德
• The Greek philosophers laid the
foundations of Western culture
• Ancient Greek philosophy: the
beginning of Western science
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• Plato was born into a distinguished Athenian family, active in
affairs of state
• After the death of Socrates (399 BC), Plato left Athens and
visited Italy and Sicily
– Death of Socrates in Text 1a?
• Plato returned to Athens in 388 BC and founded the Academy
• Most of his works were written in dialogues
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– The Republic (UGFN1000), The Symposium (UGFH1000)
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From our textbook
The Archaeological Park of
Plato’s Academy

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At the third point (Γ)… is partially-preserved “Square Peristyle” (4th c.
B.C.) measuring 40x40 m. The architecture and function of this
building remain uncertain, but it too probably belonged to Plato’s
school. 17
Ruins of Plato’s Academy

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Republic 《理想國》 / 《國家篇》

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 Republic
• A Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 380 BC
• Plato’s Socrates. Probably NOT historical Socrates
– Plato’s philosophy rather than Socrates’ philosophy
• What is justice?
• The ruler should be a philosopher (philosopher king)
• The ruler should know the good
• One way to know the good is to study
– Arithmetic, geometry, solid geometry, astronomy. (Republic,
Book VII) (Why? Text 11a)
• Epistemology 知識論 (theory of knowledge)

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 Fundamental questions
• Questions shared by ancient Greek philosophers
• What is the nature of reality? What is true reality?
– “They [the prisoners] are like us” (Text 1a, para.3)
• Is reality revealed by the senses?
• Is knowledge gained only by the exercise of reason?
• How to understand change and stability?
• How did Plato answer?
– Plato’s theory of Forms
• Allegory of the cave

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 An adaptation of the allegory

Link: https://youtu.be/E4XXItJYFKA 23
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 An adaptation of the allegory

Link: https://youtu.be/E4XXItJYFKA 25
Plato’s two worlds
Appearance ≠ True reality

• Outside the cave World of Forms

• Contains the perfect 理型世界
form of everything

• Inside the cave

• The forms or ideas are
imperfectly replicated
Sensible world
可感世界 / 感官世界 26
 Theory of forms (Text 1b, para.32)
• Where does the changelessness exist?
• The forms
– Incorporeal 非實體 , intangible 無形 , and insensible 不被感覺到
– Eternal and absolutely changeless
– Objectively exist [in the world of forms] (NOT exist in our minds)
– Primary existence
• True reality is located only in the world of forms.
– The sensible world is less “real”
• The sensible world is imperfect and transitory
– The corporeal object is an imperfect replica of the form

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A perfect circle?

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 Theory of Forms
• Perfect circle
– Every point on its circumference is exactly the same
distance from the centre point
• Does a perfect circle really exist in the sensible
world?
• The “circles” in the sensible world are only
imperfect replicas
• Idea of a perfect circle  Form of a circle
• Geometrical shapes: triangles, squares, etc.
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 Theory of Forms
• The forms
– Incorporeal 非實體 , intangible 無形 , and insensible 不被感覺到
– Eternal and absolutely changeless
– Objectively exist [in the world of forms] (NOT exist in our minds)

• Examples
– Values
• Form of justice (“justice itself” (Text 1a para.20))
• “Form of the good” (Text 1a para.18)
• Form of beauty (“beauty itself” (UGFH: Plato’s Symposium
211d-e))
– Mathematical objects
• Form of circle…

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“ 甚麼是柏拉圖的理型？” https://youtu.be/KOt0WCEbe-k 31
“What is Platonic Form?” https://youtu.be/MEA1GGdv72M
 Plato’s theory of forms
• Text 1b, the author Lindberg tried to
explain Plato’s theory of forms by 3
analogies given by Plato:
1. Allegory of the cave
2. Carpenter and his tables
3. Divine craftsman and the cosmos
Warning:
analogy ≠ the subject behind the analogy
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Carpenter’s tables
(Text 1b, para.30)

• From the idea of a

t l y table in the
e rf e c
i m p ed carpenter’s mind to
i c a t
r epl the actual tables
• The carpenter
replicates the
mental idea in each
table imperfectly

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 Plato’s “story”
(Text 1b, para.31)
• A divine craftsman (the Demiurge 神匠 ) to the
cosmos ~ A carpenter to his tables
– The divine craftsman is rational. (personification of reason)
• The divine craftsman constructed the cosmos
according to an idea or plan (i.e. form)
– Everything in the cosmos are replicas of eternal ideas or
forms
– Always imperfect replicas because of limitations inherent
in the materials

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 Forms
• Do forms really exist?
– Very controversial but significant implications
– Change (sensible objects) and stability (Forms)
• Plato’s forms and modern science?
– An example to illustrate Lindberg’s interpretation on
Plato:
• Recall how we collect the data when doing scientific
experiments.
• Example: falling objects in vacuum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z8g8OSOMzY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1iff6nMPFA
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 Idealization

Caution: Szeto’s
interpretation on
Lindberg’s interpretation 

Idealization is a prominent feature of a great deal of modern

science; we develop models or laws that overlook the
incidental in favor of the essential (Text 1b, para. 39)
Caution: Lindberg’s interpretation on Plato’s theory of forms. Plato did 38
not use the term “idealization”!
 Summary
True reality is located only in the world of forms
•Plato’s theory of forms
– Allegory of the cave
– The forms
• Incorporeal, absolutely changeless, eternal, objectively exist.
•What is true reality?
– Plato’s view: true reality is located only in the world of forms
– Plato’s epistemology. What is the route to true knowledge?
• Why truth matters?
– Is it desirable to go outside the cave?
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 Major references
• Plato. Republic. Translated by C. D. C. Reeve.
Indianapolis: Hackett, 2004.
• Lindberg, David C., The Beginnings of Western Science.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
• Warburton, Nigel. A Little History of Philosophy. New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2011.
• Henry, John, A Short History of Scientific Thought.
London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
• Wikipedia, “The Republic (Plato),” 16:30, 5 September
2011.
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 PASS session today
41

Peer Assisted Study Session

 PASS session: NZ (for UGFN1000Z) (Cantonese)
 Date & time: 13 Jan (Fri) 15:30–16:30
 Venue: ERB_402
 PASS Leader: Aaron Yuen ( 袁尚成 )
Main discussion questions in PASS
What are the features of Plato’s forms? How are the forms
1.

different from sensible objects?

How does Plato’s allegory of the cave echo the two worlds in
2.

Plato’s philosophy?
What are the criteria for us to gain true knowledge?
3.

Timetable of PASS: http://pass.oge.cuhk.edu.hk/

 Study tips
• Understand before evaluate!
– Be open-mindedness yet critical!
• What were the problems which the thinkers
tried to solve or response?
– In dialogue with whom?
• Read the texts with the questions in mind
( 問題意識 )

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 Two worlds
1. World of Forms 理型世界
• (Intelligible realm 可知世界 / knowable realm) /
realm of Forms / realm of Ideas / realm of true
knowledge
• Contains the perfect form of everything
2. Sensible world 可感世界 / 感官世界
• The realm revealed through sight / visible realm /
material realm / the world of sense experience /
corporeal realm
• The forms or ideas are imperfectly replicated

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 Tutorial discussion
a) What are Plato’s Forms?
b) How does Plato’s allegory of the cave fit into his
theory of Forms?
c) What are the difficulties to apprehend the true
reality (the world of forms)?
d) Would you go outside the cave?
e) Would you go back to the cave and save other
prisoners?

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 Reminder
• Next tutorial: discussion on Text 1a and 1b.
• Read and understand the texts before the tutorial!
• Bring your textbook and name tag
• Delete the sentence in Text 1b para. 38 “The legitimacy and
utility… visible (material) things, the sun.”
• UGFH/FN-animated: watch the whiteboard animation before the
tutorial
– “ 甚麼是柏拉圖的理型？” (Chinese version)
– https://youtu.be/KOt0WCEbe-k
– “What is Platonic Form?” (English version)
– https://youtu.be/MEA1GGdv72M

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