the other day I was talking to a friend in the bar about Plato and his philosophy. Plato, I guess originated dualistic view of the world. there is this physical world and there is this world of forms beyond our immediate reach. we attempt to get closer to the ideals or forms maybe through science. mathematics which is built upon abstractions speaks the language of Plato’s ideals or forms. in the same conversation the thought experiment of Plato’s cave appeared. are we all the prisoners chained inside a cave mistaking for the shadows on the wall as reality. we think we have gotten out of the cave. but we are always in chains. you will never get out of the cave. Plato probably was hinting to the reality that his forms or ideals can never be realized in our fallible physical world. but then what do we do. we keep trying to get closer to the truth. is it a hopeless endeavor. probably not. there is excitement and joy in the tries. it really is about the journey not some final destination or ultimate divine truth.
Day 37: thinking Plato
Published by Lifelong Learner
I write one random blog everyday. My interests are scattered all over. Sometimes I love to contemplate the intersection of science and philosophy. Sometimes I go down the rabbit hole of exploring new emerging pieces of technology like blockchain, AI, Quantum Computing. Some days I just ponder over the meaning of it all. I think about knowledge creation, ideas on evolution, computation and emergence in nature. View more posts
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