Archangel M
Senior Master
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
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If find it amusing how many people believe that THEY are the ones who have exited the cave.
The Allegory of the Cave
- Thread starter Makalakumu
- Start date
Empty Hands
Senior Master
The allegory is accurate, as far as it goes. Our information must be processed through a sense organ subject to natural errors and biases, so of course no one person can see the object clearly.
Extending the analogy however, we do have a means of figuring out the clear shape of that object. Rigorous thinking combined with shared and competing observations allow us to infer the true shape. There is a reality out there, a true shape, and we do have the means to figure out what that reality is, albeit slowly, piecemeal and over time. Empiricism and science is the only reliable means.
Extending the analogy however, we do have a means of figuring out the clear shape of that object. Rigorous thinking combined with shared and competing observations allow us to infer the true shape. There is a reality out there, a true shape, and we do have the means to figure out what that reality is, albeit slowly, piecemeal and over time. Empiricism and science is the only reliable means.
