Plato .. similie of the large and powerful animal.

hey, jus wondering if anyone could explain the similie of the large and powerful animal for me cant find notes on it anywhere! and does it come under prejudice against the philosopher or under qualites of the philosoper? coz qualites of the philosoper came up in the AQA 05 paper and they never repeat topics 2 years in a row so dont wana waste time! :p:

Reply 1

Calvin

Well, you can't really pidgeon hole it like that. Analogies in Plato are generally more complicated, they link lots of ideas together. In showing prejudice against the sophists for example he demonstrates qualities that philosophers should have. The idea, I think, is that he's demonstrating a distinction between knowing the difference between appearance and reality. The beast handler, like the democratic man, or the sophist doesn't know the difference between what the beast likes, and what is actually good for the beast. The philosopher ruler on the other hand would know the difference. So it's partly a quality of the philosopher, partly a comment against sophists, partly an idea about the just and wise individual etc etc. So long as you understand idea that the parable is discussing, you can use it in lots of different questions.

Reply 2

niz33

cheers thts cleared a few things up 4 me!

Kewl1

I saw in the 2002 mark scheme that a point for discussion could be

"Electioneering is one aspect of the democratic process and it is this which the analogy fits best- if it fits at all....e.g. voting in accordance with conscience regardless of public opinion, the ultimate nature of accountability, etc"

I've no idea what to infer from this...any thoughts?

I've a feeling that this may be the b question this year...

Reply 5

Calvin

Well the idea would be that the person standing in a democratic election is often like the beast handler. They promise the crowd whatever makes them happy rather than sticking to policies that are genuinely good ones. They don't do what's actually good for the people, but just whatever the people think is good. And Plato thinks, as the Beast analogy is supposed to suggest, that the two things are actually different.