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class="vector-toc-link" href="#Metaphor_of_the_Sun"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Metaphor of the Sun</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Metaphor_of_the_Sun-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_divided_line" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_divided_line"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>The divided line</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_divided_line-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Allegory_of_the_cave" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Allegory_of_the_cave"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Allegory of the cave</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Allegory_of_the_cave-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Charioteer_myth" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Charioteer_myth"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Charioteer myth</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Charioteer_myth-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-An_example:_love_and_wisdom" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#An_example:_love_and_wisdom"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>An example: love and wisdom</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-An_example:_love_and_wisdom-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" 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href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Platonic+epistemology%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">December 2009</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Plato_in_Nuremberg_Chronicle_LXXIIIv.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Plato_in_Nuremberg_Chronicle_LXXIIIv.jpg/220px-Plato_in_Nuremberg_Chronicle_LXXIIIv.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="281" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Plato_in_Nuremberg_Chronicle_LXXIIIv.jpg/330px-Plato_in_Nuremberg_Chronicle_LXXIIIv.jpg 1.5x, 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a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks hlist"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:Platonism" title="Category:Platonism">a series</a> on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle"><a href="/wiki/Platonism" title="Platonism">Platonism</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Platon.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Platon.png/100px-Platon.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="113" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Platon.png/150px-Platon.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Platon.png/200px-Platon.png 2x" data-file-width="314" data-file-height="354" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Life_of_Plato" title="Life of Plato">Life</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Dialogues_of_Plato" title="Category:Dialogues of Plato">Works</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theory_of_forms" title="Theory of forms">Theory of forms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Form_of_the_Good" title="Form of the Good">Form of the Good</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_theory_of_soul" title="Plato's theory of soul">Theory of soul</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_political_philosophy" title="Plato's political philosophy">Political philosophy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro_dilemma" title="Euthyphro dilemma">Euthyphro dilemma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Demiurge" title="Demiurge">Demiurge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atlantis" title="Atlantis">Atlantis</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Republic_(Plato)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Republic (Plato)">The Republic</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave" title="Allegory of the cave">Allegory of the cave</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_Sun" title="Analogy of the Sun">Analogy of the Sun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_divided_line" title="Analogy of the divided line">Analogy of the divided line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosopher_king" title="Philosopher king">Philosopher king</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ship_of_State" title="Ship of State">Ship of State</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ring_of_Gyges" title="Ring of Gyges">Ring of Gyges</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Myth_of_Er" title="Myth of Er">Myth of Er</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Category:Dialogues_of_Plato" title="Category:Dialogues of Plato">The works of Plato</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro" title="Euthyphro">Euthyphro</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Apology_(Plato)" title="Apology (Plato)">Apology</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Crito" title="Crito">Crito</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedo" title="Phaedo">Phaedo</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theaetetus_(dialogue)" title="Theaetetus (dialogue)">Theaetetus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sophist_(dialogue)" title="Sophist (dialogue)">Sophist</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Statesman_(dialogue)" title="Statesman (dialogue)">Statesman</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Parmenides_(dialogue)" title="Parmenides (dialogue)">Parmenides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Philebus" title="Philebus">Philebus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)" title="Symposium (Plato)">Symposium</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedrus_(dialogue)" title="Phaedrus (dialogue)">Phaedrus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/First_Alcibiades" title="First Alcibiades">First Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Second_Alcibiades" title="Second Alcibiades">Second Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hipparchus_(dialogue)" title="Hipparchus (dialogue)">Hipparchus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rival_Lovers" title="Rival Lovers">Rival Lovers</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theages" title="Theages">Theages</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Charmides_(dialogue)" title="Charmides (dialogue)">Charmides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laches_(dialogue)" title="Laches (dialogue)">Laches</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Lysis_(dialogue)" title="Lysis (dialogue)">Lysis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthydemus_(dialogue)" title="Euthydemus (dialogue)">Euthydemus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Protagoras_(dialogue)" title="Protagoras (dialogue)">Protagoras</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Gorgias_(dialogue)" title="Gorgias (dialogue)">Gorgias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Meno" title="Meno">Meno</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Major" title="Hippias Major">Hippias Major</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Minor" title="Hippias Minor">Hippias Minor</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ion_(dialogue)" title="Ion (dialogue)">Ion</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Menexenus_(dialogue)" title="Menexenus (dialogue)">Menexenus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Clitophon_(dialogue)" title="Clitophon (dialogue)">Clitophon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Republic_(Plato)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Republic (Plato)">Republic</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Timaeus_(dialogue)" title="Timaeus (dialogue)">Timaeus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Critias_(dialogue)" title="Critias (dialogue)">Critias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Minos_(dialogue)" title="Minos (dialogue)">Minos</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laws_(dialogue)" title="Laws (dialogue)">Laws</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epinomis" title="Epinomis">Epinomis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epistles_(Plato)" title="Epistles (Plato)">Epistles</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Definitions_(Plato)" title="Definitions (Plato)">Definitions</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Justice" title="On Justice">On Justice</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Virtue" title="On Virtue">On Virtue</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Demodocus_(dialogue)" title="Demodocus (dialogue)">Demodocus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sisyphus_(dialogue)" title="Sisyphus (dialogue)">Sisyphus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Halcyon_(dialogue)" title="Halcyon (dialogue)">Halcyon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Eryxias_(dialogue)" title="Eryxias (dialogue)">Eryxias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Axiochus_(dialogue)" title="Axiochus (dialogue)">Axiochus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epigrams_(Plato)" title="Epigrams (Plato)">Epigrams</a></i></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Related articles</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Commentaries_on_Plato" title="Commentaries on Plato">Commentaries</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_Academy" title="Platonic Academy">The Academy in Athens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Platonism" title="Middle Platonism">Middle Platonism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism" title="Neoplatonism">Neoplatonism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Allegorical_interpretations_of_Plato" title="Allegorical interpretations of Plato">Allegorical interpretations of Plato</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_unwritten_doctrines" title="Plato's unwritten doctrines">Plato's unwritten doctrines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudo-Platonica" title="Pseudo-Platonica">Pseudo-Platonica</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Related categories</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="CategoryTreeTag" data-ct-options="{"mode":20,"hideprefix":20,"showcount":false,"namespaces":false,"notranslations":false}"><div class="CategoryTreeSection"><div class="CategoryTreeItem"><span class="CategoryTreeBullet"><a class="CategoryTreeToggle" data-ct-title="Plato" aria-expanded="false"></a> </span> <bdi dir="ltr"><a href="/wiki/Category:Plato" title="Category:Plato">Plato</a></bdi></div><div class="CategoryTreeChildren" style="display:none"></div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Socrates.png/10px-Socrates.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Socrates.png/15px-Socrates.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Socrates.png/21px-Socrates.png 2x" data-file-width="326" data-file-height="500" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Philosophy" title="Portal:Philosophy">Philosophy portal</a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Platonism" title="Template:Platonism"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Platonism" title="Template talk:Platonism"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Platonism" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Platonism"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a>, <b>Plato's epistemology</b> is a theory of <a href="/wiki/Knowledge" title="Knowledge">knowledge</a> developed by the Greek philosopher <a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a> and his followers. </p><p>Platonic <a href="/wiki/Epistemology" title="Epistemology">epistemology</a> holds that knowledge of <a href="/wiki/Theory_of_forms" title="Theory of forms">Platonic Ideas</a> is innate, so that learning is the development of ideas buried deep in the soul, often under the midwife-like guidance of an interrogator. In several dialogues by <a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a>, the character <a href="/wiki/Socrates" title="Socrates">Socrates</a> presents the view that each soul existed before birth with <a href="/wiki/The_Form_of_the_Good" class="mw-redirect" title="The Form of the Good">the Form of the Good</a> and a perfect knowledge of Ideas. Thus, when an Idea is "learned" it is actually just "recalled".<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Plato drew a sharp distinction between <a href="/wiki/Knowledge" title="Knowledge">knowledge</a>, which is certain, and mere true <a href="/wiki/Opinion" title="Opinion">opinion</a>, which is not certain. Opinions derive from the shifting world of sensation; knowledge derives from the world of timeless Forms, or <a href="/wiki/Essence" title="Essence">essences</a>. In <i><a href="/wiki/The_Republic_(Plato)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Republic (Plato)">The Republic</a></i>, these concepts were illustrated using the <a href="/wiki/Metaphor_of_the_Sun" class="mw-redirect" title="Metaphor of the Sun">metaphor of the Sun</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_divided_line" title="Analogy of the divided line">analogy of the divided line</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave" title="Allegory of the cave">allegory of the cave</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Platonic_doctrine_of_recollection">Platonic doctrine of recollection</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Platonic doctrine of recollection"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Anamnesis_(philosophy)" title="Anamnesis (philosophy)">Anamnesis (philosophy)</a></div> <p>The <i>Platonic doctrine of recollection,</i> or <i>anamnesis</i> is the view that we are born possessing all <a href="/wiki/Knowledge" title="Knowledge">knowledge</a> and our realization of that knowledge is contingent on our discovery of it. Whether the doctrine should be taken literally or not is a subject of debate.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2023)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> The soul is trapped in the body. The soul was once directly acquainted with the Forms, but it is now embodied. It once knew all of the Forms, but forgot them. Recollection is the process of bringing to our attention this knowledge that we have forgotten. This doctrine implies that nothing is ever learned, it is simply recalled or remembered. In short it says that all that we know already comes pre-loaded on birth and our senses enable us to identify and recognize the stratified information in our mind. Recollection involves, on the one hand, overcoming the deceptions and distractions of the body, but, on the other hand, productively using the body's deceptions to occasion or trigger the episodes of recollection. The main texts that develop the theory of recollection are the <i><a href="/wiki/Phaedo" title="Phaedo">Phaedo</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Meno" title="Meno">Meno</a></i>, although the theory also plays an important role in the <i><a href="/wiki/Phaedrus_(dialogue)" title="Phaedrus (dialogue)">Phaedrus</a></i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Metaphor_of_the_Sun">Metaphor of the Sun</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Metaphor of the Sun"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_metaphor_of_the_Sun" class="mw-redirect" title="Plato's metaphor of the Sun">Plato's metaphor of the Sun</a></div> <p>In the <i><a href="/wiki/Republic_(Plato)" title="Republic (Plato)">Republic</a></i> (VI 507b-509c), Plato's character, Socrates, uses the Sun as a metaphor for the source of "intellectual illumination," which he held to be <i>The Form of the Good</i>. The metaphor is about the nature of ultimate reality and how we come to know it. It starts with the eye, which Socrates says is unusual among the sense organs in that it needs a medium, namely light, in order to operate. The strongest and best source of light is the Sun; with it, we can discern objects clearly. Analogously, for intelligible objects The Form of the Good is necessary in order to understand any particular thing. Thus, if we attempt to understand why things are as they are, and what general categories can be used to understand various particulars around us, without reference to any forms (universals) we will fail completely. In contrast, "the domain where truth and reality shine resplendent" is none other than Plato's world of forms, illuminated by the highest of the Forms, that of the Good. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_divided_line">The divided line</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: The divided line"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_divided_line" class="mw-redirect" title="Plato's divided line">Plato's divided line</a></div> <p>In the sixth book of the <i><a href="/wiki/Republic_(Plato)" title="Republic (Plato)">Republic</a></i>, the divided line has two parts that represent the intelligible world and the smaller visible world. Each of those two parts is divided, the segments within the intelligible world represent higher and lower forms and the segments within the visible world represent ordinary visible objects and their shadows, reflections, and other representations. The line segments are unequal and their lengths represent "their comparative clearness and obscurity" and their comparative "reality and truth," as well as whether we have knowledge or instead mere opinion of the objects. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Allegory_of_the_cave">Allegory of the cave</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Allegory of the cave"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_allegory_of_the_cave" class="mw-redirect" title="Plato's allegory of the cave">Plato's allegory of the cave</a></div> <p>In his best-known dialogue, <i><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Plato's Republic">The Republic</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a> drew an analogy between human sensation and the shadows that pass along the wall of a cave - an <a href="/wiki/Allegory" title="Allegory">allegory</a> known as <a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_allegory_of_the_cave" class="mw-redirect" title="Plato's allegory of the cave">Plato's allegory of the cave</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Charioteer_myth">Charioteer myth</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Charioteer myth"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Chariot_Allegory" class="mw-redirect" title="Chariot Allegory">Chariot Allegory</a></div> <p>Along with these other allegories, Plato's <a href="/wiki/Chariot_Allegory" class="mw-redirect" title="Chariot Allegory">charioteer myth</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Phaedrus_(dialogue)" title="Phaedrus (dialogue)"><i>Phaedrus</i></a> (245c-257b) certainly also deserves mention. The ascent of the mind to celestial and trans-celestial realms is likened to a charioteer and a chariot drawn by two winged horses, one dark and one white. Figuratively represented is the famous Platonic <i>tripartite model</i> of the soul: the charioteer represents reason, or intellect, the dark horse appetitive passions, and the white horse irascible nature. Only by taming and controlling the two horses can the charioteer ascend to the heavens and enjoy a banquet of divine knowledge. Key epistemological features of the charioteer myth are (1) an emphasis, as with the cave allegory, upon true knowledge as ascent, (2) and the need to tame one's passionate nature to obtain true knowledge. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="An_example:_love_and_wisdom">An example: love and wisdom</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: An example: love and wisdom"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A good example of how Plato presents the acquiring of knowledge is contained in the <i>Ladder of Love</i>. In <i>Symposium</i> (210a-211b), Plato's Socrates cites the priestess Diotima as defining a "lover" as someone who loves and <a href="/wiki/Love" title="Love">love</a> as a desire for something that one does not have. According to this ladder model of love, a lover progresses from <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rung" class="extiw" title="wikt:rung">rung</a> to rung from the basest love to the pure form of love as follows: </p> <ol><li><i>A beautiful body</i> - The lover begins here at the most obvious form of love.</li> <li><i>All beautiful bodies</i> - If the lover examines his love and does some investigating, he/she will find that the <a href="/wiki/Beauty" title="Beauty">beauty</a> contained in this beautiful body is not original, that it is shared by every beautiful body.</li> <li><i>Beautiful <a href="/wiki/Soul_(spirit)" class="mw-redirect" title="Soul (spirit)">souls</a></i> - After most likely attempting to have every beautiful body, the lover should realize that if a single love does not satisfy, there is no reason to think that many ones will satisfy. Thus, the "lover of every body" must, in the words of Plato, "bring his passion for the one into due proportion by deeming it of little or of no importance." Instead, the passion is transferred to a more appropriate object: the soul.</li> <li><i>The beauty of <a href="/wiki/Law" title="Law">laws</a> and <a href="/wiki/Institution" title="Institution">institutions</a></i> - The next <a href="/wiki/Logic" title="Logic">logical</a> step is for the lover to love all beautiful souls and then to transfer that love to that which is responsible for their existence: a moderate, harmonious and just social order.</li> <li><i>The beauty of <a href="/wiki/Knowledge" title="Knowledge">knowledge</a></i> - Once proceeding down this path, the lover will naturally long for that which produces and makes intelligible good social institutions: knowledge.</li> <li><i>Beauty itself</i> - This is the <a href="/wiki/Theory_of_forms" title="Theory of forms">Form</a> of Beauty. It is not a particular thing that is beautiful, but is instead the essence of beauty. Plato describes this level of love as a "wondrous vision," an "everlasting loveliness which neither comes nor ages, which neither flowers nor fades." It is eternal and isn't "anything that is of the flesh" nor "words" nor "knowledge" but consists "of itself and by itself in an eternal oneness, while every lovely thing partakes of it."</li></ol> <p>Knowledge concerning other things is similarly gained by progressing from a base reality (or shadow) of the thing sought (red, tall, thin, keen, etc.) to the eventual form of the thing sought, or the thing sought itself. Such steps follow the same pattern as Plato's metaphor of the sun, his allegory of the cave and his divided line; progress brings one closer and closer to reality as each step explains the relative reality of the past. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ackrill, J.L. "Anamnēsis in the Phaedo," in E.N. Lee and A.P.D. Mourelatos (eds.) Exegesis and Argument: Studies in Greek Philosophy Presented to Gregory Vlastos. Assen, 1973. 177-95. On the theory of recollection in Plato's Phaedo(73c-75).</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Epistemology" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Epistemology" title="Template:Epistemology"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Epistemology" title="Template talk:Epistemology"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Epistemology" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Epistemology"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Epistemology" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Epistemology" title="Epistemology">Epistemology</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_epistemologists" title="List of epistemologists">Epistemologists</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas" title="Thomas Aquinas">Thomas Aquinas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo" title="Augustine of Hippo">Augustine of Hippo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/William_Alston" title="William Alston">William Alston</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Audi" title="Robert Audi">Robert Audi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/A._J._Ayer" title="A. J. Ayer">A. J. Ayer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/George_Berkeley" title="George Berkeley">George Berkeley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Laurence_BonJour" title="Laurence BonJour">Laurence BonJour</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gilles_Deleuze" title="Gilles Deleuze">Gilles Deleuze</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Keith_DeRose" title="Keith DeRose">Keith DeRose</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes" title="René Descartes">René Descartes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Dewey" title="John Dewey">John Dewey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fred_Dretske" title="Fred Dretske">Fred Dretske</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Edmund_Gettier" title="Edmund Gettier">Edmund Gettier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alvin_Goldman" title="Alvin Goldman">Alvin Goldman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nelson_Goodman" title="Nelson Goodman">Nelson Goodman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paul_Grice" title="Paul Grice">Paul Grice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anil_Gupta_(philosopher)" title="Anil Gupta (philosopher)">Anil Gupta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Susan_Haack" title="Susan Haack">Susan Haack</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Hume" title="David Hume">David Hume</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard" title="Søren Kierkegaard">Søren Kierkegaard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Peter_D._Klein" title="Peter D. Klein">Peter Klein</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saul_Kripke" title="Saul Kripke">Saul Kripke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hilary_Kornblith" title="Hilary Kornblith">Hilary Kornblith</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Lewis_(philosopher)" title="David Lewis (philosopher)">David Lewis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Locke" title="John Locke">John Locke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/G._E._Moore" title="G. E. Moore">G. E. Moore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_McDowell" title="John McDowell">John McDowell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Nozick" title="Robert Nozick">Robert Nozick</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alvin_Plantinga" title="Alvin Plantinga">Alvin Plantinga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Duncan_Pritchard" title="Duncan Pritchard">Duncan Pritchard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/James_Pryor" title="James Pryor">James Pryor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hilary_Putnam" title="Hilary Putnam">Hilary Putnam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Willard_Van_Orman_Quine" title="Willard Van Orman Quine">W. V. O. Quine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Reid" title="Thomas Reid">Thomas Reid</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bertrand_Russell" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gilbert_Ryle" title="Gilbert Ryle">Gilbert Ryle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wilfrid_Sellars" title="Wilfrid Sellars">Wilfrid Sellars</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Susanna_Siegel" title="Susanna Siegel">Susanna Siegel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ernest_Sosa" title="Ernest Sosa">Ernest Sosa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/P._F._Strawson" title="P. F. Strawson">P. F. Strawson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza" title="Baruch Spinoza">Baruch Spinoza</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timothy_Williamson" title="Timothy Williamson">Timothy Williamson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein" title="Ludwig Wittgenstein">Ludwig Wittgenstein</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nicholas_Wolterstorff" title="Nicholas Wolterstorff">Nicholas Wolterstorff</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vienna_Circle" title="Vienna Circle">Vienna Circle</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/List_of_epistemologists" title="List of epistemologists">more...</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Epistemological_theories" title="Category:Epistemological theories">Theories</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Coherentism" title="Coherentism">Coherentism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constructivist_epistemology" class="mw-redirect" title="Constructivist epistemology">Constructivism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Contextualism" title="Contextualism">Contextualism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Empiricism" title="Empiricism">Empiricism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Evolutionary_epistemology" title="Evolutionary epistemology">Evolutionary epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fallibilism" title="Fallibilism">Fallibilism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_epistemology" title="Feminist epistemology">Feminist epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fideism" title="Fideism">Fideism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foundationalism" title="Foundationalism">Foundationalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semantic_holism" title="Semantic holism">Holism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Infinitism" title="Infinitism">Infinitism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Innatism" title="Innatism">Innatism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Na%C3%AFve_realism" title="Naïve realism">Naïve realism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naturalized_epistemology" title="Naturalized epistemology">Naturalized epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phenomenalism" title="Phenomenalism">Phenomenalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Positivism" title="Positivism">Positivism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rationalism" title="Rationalism">Rationalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reductionism" title="Reductionism">Reductionism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reliabilism" title="Reliabilism">Reliabilism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Direct_and_indirect_realism" title="Direct and indirect realism">Representational realism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophical_skepticism" title="Philosophical skepticism">Skepticism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transcendental_idealism" title="Transcendental idealism">Transcendental idealism</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Concepts_in_epistemology" title="Category:Concepts in epistemology">Concepts</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/A_priori_and_a_posteriori" title="A priori and a posteriori"><i>A priori</i> knowledge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/A_priori_and_a_posteriori" title="A priori and a posteriori"><i>A posteriori</i> knowledge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophical_analysis" title="Philosophical analysis">Analysis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analytic%E2%80%93synthetic_distinction" title="Analytic–synthetic distinction">Analytic–synthetic distinction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belief" title="Belief">Belief</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Common_sense" title="Common sense">Common sense</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Descriptive_knowledge" class="mw-redirect" title="Descriptive knowledge">Descriptive knowledge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Exploratory_thought" title="Exploratory thought">Exploratory thought</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epistemic_injustice" title="Epistemic injustice">Epistemic injustice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epistemic_virtue" title="Epistemic virtue">Epistemic virtue</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gettier_problem" title="Gettier problem">Gettier problem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inductive_reasoning" title="Inductive reasoning">Induction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internalism_and_externalism" title="Internalism and externalism">Internalism and externalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Justification_(epistemology)" title="Justification (epistemology)">Justification</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Knowledge" title="Knowledge">Knowledge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Objectivity_(philosophy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Objectivity (philosophy)">Objectivity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Privileged_access" class="mw-redirect" title="Privileged access">Privileged access</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Problem_of_induction" title="Problem of induction">Problem of induction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Problem_of_other_minds" title="Problem of other minds">Problem of other minds</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Perception" title="Perception">Perception</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Procedural_knowledge" title="Procedural knowledge">Procedural knowledge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proposition" title="Proposition">Proposition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regress_argument" class="mw-redirect" title="Regress argument">Regress argument</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Simplicity" title="Simplicity">Simplicity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Truth" title="Truth">Truth</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Index_of_epistemology_articles" title="Index of epistemology articles">more...</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related articles</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_epistemology" title="Outline of epistemology">Outline of epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Faith_and_rationality" title="Faith and rationality">Faith and rationality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Formal_epistemology" title="Formal epistemology">Formal epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metaepistemology" title="Metaepistemology">Metaepistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophy_of_perception" title="Philosophy of perception">Philosophy of perception</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophy_of_science" title="Philosophy of science">Philosophy of science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_epistemology" title="Social epistemology">Social epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virtue_epistemology" title="Virtue epistemology">Virtue epistemology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Epistemology" title="Category:Epistemology">Category</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Philosophy/Epistemology" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Philosophy/Epistemology">Task Force</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Philosophy_stubs" title="Category:Philosophy stubs">Stubs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Philosophy" title="Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Philosophy">Discussion</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Plato" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Plato_navbox" title="Template:Plato navbox"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Plato_navbox" title="Template talk:Plato navbox"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Plato_navbox" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Plato navbox"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Plato" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Works</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Apology_(Plato)" title="Apology (Plato)">Apology</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Charmides_(dialogue)" title="Charmides (dialogue)">Charmides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Clitophon_(dialogue)" title="Clitophon (dialogue)">Clitophon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Critias_(dialogue)" title="Critias (dialogue)">Critias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Crito" title="Crito">Crito</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthydemus_(dialogue)" title="Euthydemus (dialogue)">Euthydemus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro" title="Euthyphro">Euthyphro</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/First_Alcibiades" title="First Alcibiades">First Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Gorgias_(dialogue)" title="Gorgias (dialogue)">Gorgias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Major" title="Hippias Major">Hippias Major</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Minor" title="Hippias Minor">Hippias Minor</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ion_(dialogue)" title="Ion (dialogue)">Ion</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laches_(dialogue)" title="Laches (dialogue)">Laches</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laws_(dialogue)" title="Laws (dialogue)">Laws</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Lysis_(dialogue)" title="Lysis (dialogue)">Lysis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Menexenus_(dialogue)" title="Menexenus (dialogue)">Menexenus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Meno" title="Meno">Meno</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Parmenides_(dialogue)" title="Parmenides (dialogue)">Parmenides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedo" title="Phaedo">Phaedo</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedrus_(dialogue)" title="Phaedrus (dialogue)">Phaedrus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Philebus" title="Philebus">Philebus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Protagoras_(dialogue)" title="Protagoras (dialogue)">Protagoras</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Republic_(Plato)" title="Republic (Plato)">Republic</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sophist_(dialogue)" title="Sophist (dialogue)">Sophist</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Statesman_(dialogue)" title="Statesman (dialogue)">Statesman</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)" title="Symposium (Plato)">Symposium</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theaetetus_(dialogue)" title="Theaetetus (dialogue)">Theaetetus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Timaeus_(dialogue)" title="Timaeus (dialogue)">Timaeus</a></i></li></ul> </div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th id="Of_doubtfulauthenticity" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Of doubtful<br />authenticity</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Axiochus_(dialogue)" title="Axiochus (dialogue)">Axiochus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Definitions_(Plato)" title="Definitions (Plato)">Definitions</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Demodocus_(dialogue)" title="Demodocus (dialogue)">Demodocus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epigrams_(Plato)" title="Epigrams (Plato)">Epigrams</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epinomis" title="Epinomis">Epinomis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epistles_(Plato)" title="Epistles (Plato)">Epistles</a></i> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Seventh_Letter" title="Seventh Letter">Seventh Letter</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Eryxias_(dialogue)" title="Eryxias (dialogue)">Eryxias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Halcyon_(dialogue)" title="Halcyon (dialogue)">Halcyon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hipparchus_(dialogue)" title="Hipparchus (dialogue)">Hipparchus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Minos_(dialogue)" title="Minos (dialogue)">Minos</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Justice" title="On Justice">On Justice</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Virtue" title="On Virtue">On Virtue</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rival_Lovers" title="Rival Lovers">Rival Lovers</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Second_Alcibiades" title="Second Alcibiades">Second Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sisyphus_(dialogue)" title="Sisyphus (dialogue)">Sisyphus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theages" title="Theages">Theages</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="5" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg/100px-Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="150" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg/150px-Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg/200px-Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2400" data-file-height="3600" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Platonism" title="Platonism">Philosophy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro_dilemma" title="Euthyphro dilemma">Euthyphro dilemma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_love" title="Platonic love">Platonic love</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cardinal_virtues" title="Cardinal virtues">Cardinal virtues</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Sophrosyne" title="Sophrosyne">Sophrosyne</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Platonic epistemology</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Anamnesis_(philosophy)" title="Anamnesis (philosophy)">Amanesis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Peritrope" title="Peritrope">Peritrope</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Divine_madness" title="Divine madness">Theia mania</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theory_of_forms" title="Theory of forms">Theory of Forms</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Form_of_the_Good" title="Form of the Good">Form of the Good</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_theory_of_soul" title="Plato's theory of soul">Theory of soul</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_political_philosophy" title="Plato's political philosophy">Plato's political philosophy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Philosopher_king" title="Philosopher king">Philosopher king</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_solid" title="Platonic solid">Platonic solid</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Anima_mundi" title="Anima mundi">Anima mundi</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Demiurge" title="Demiurge">Demiurge</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hyperuranion" title="Hyperuranion">Hyperuranion</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Allegorical_interpretations_of_Plato" title="Allegorical interpretations of Plato">Allegories<br />and metaphors</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Atlantis" title="Atlantis">Atlantis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ring_of_Gyges" title="Ring of Gyges">Ring of Gyges</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave" title="Allegory of the cave">The Cave</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_divided_line" title="Analogy of the divided line">The Divided Line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_Sun" title="Analogy of the Sun">The Sun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ship_of_State" title="Ship of State">Ship of State</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Myth_of_Er" title="Myth of Er">Myth of Er</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Life_of_Plato" title="Life of Plato">Life</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_Academy" title="Platonic Academy">The Academy in Athens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socratic_problem" title="Socratic problem">Socratic problem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_speakers_in_Plato%27s_dialogues" title="List of speakers in Plato's dialogues">List of speakers in Plato's dialogues</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Legacy</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_unwritten_doctrines" title="Plato's unwritten doctrines">Unwritten doctrines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_manuscripts_of_Plato%27s_dialogues" title="List of manuscripts of Plato's dialogues">List of manuscripts of Plato's dialogues</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cultural_influence_of_Plato%27s_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Cultural influence of Plato's Republic">Cultural influence of Plato's <i>Republic</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism_and_Gnosticism" title="Neoplatonism and Gnosticism">Neoplatonism and Gnosticism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonism_in_the_Renaissance" title="Platonism in the Renaissance">Platonism in the Renaissance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Platonism" title="Middle Platonism">Middle Platonism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Commentaries_on_Plato" title="Commentaries on Plato">Commentaries</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism" title="Neoplatonism">Neoplatonism</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism_and_Christianity" title="Neoplatonism and Christianity">and Christianity</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oxyrhynchus_Papyri#Greek" title="Oxyrhynchus Papyri">Oxyrhynchus Papyri</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_23" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 23">23</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_24" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 24">24</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_228" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 228">228</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_229" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 229">229</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_Dream" title="Plato's Dream">Plato's Dream</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Poitier_Meets_Plato" title="Poitier Meets Plato">Poitier Meets Plato</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&oldid=1230732159">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Platonic_epistemology&oldid=1230732159</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a 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