There and Back Again as a Free Person

Forum Philosophicum: International Journal for Philosophy 27 (1):69-88 (2022)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The article refers to the issue of freedom from a philosophical perspective. First of all, it discusses Plato’s metaphor of the cave in Politeia, in which the philosopher writes of freedom in its individual and collective forms. Then the article indicates how the metaphor was read by such contemporary philosophers as Martin Heidegger and Hannah Arendt, who interpret Plato’s metaphor from existential-phenomenological and political perspectives. Heidegger stresses the freedom of a human being, who in the light of the subjective existential experience begins to live objectively in an authentic way. He frees himself up from the impersonal-I. A person, who experienced the truth as un-concealment, is not enslaved anymore to the impersonality of the crowd. He is able to face his own mortality and to take responsibility for his own fate. A special expression of freedom is shown in his care for others, even if it means risking one’s life. Hannah Arendt interprets Plato’s metaphor from the perspective of political philosophy. Her assessment becomes some kind of memento. What if the prisoners of the cave simply do not want to leave their place? Does the philosopher have a right forcefully to pull them out of the cavern? What is better, the attitude of Socrates, who dialogues with people or the attitude of Plato, who simply lectures the mob? In this way Arendt refers to the concept of freedom, as it is sketched in Plato’s cave. At the same time, she argues with Heidegger’s interpretation of the Platonic metaphor. Heidegger stresses the freedom of a human being, who in the light of the subjective existential experience begins to live objectively in an authentic way. He frees himself up from the impersonal-I. Human, who experienced the truth as un-concealment and freedom, is not enslaved anymore with the impersonality of the crowd, which reject individualism and authenticity. He is able to face his own mortality and to take responsibility for his own fate. A special expression of so understood freedom is shown in his care for others, even if this way he risks his own life. Hannah Arendt interprets Plato’s metaphor rather from the perspective of political philosophy. Her assessment, rooted in the very foundation of the political-philosophical thought becomes some kind of memento. What if the prisoners of the cave, simply do not want to leave their place? Does the philosopher have a right to forcefully pull them out of the cave of shadows? What is better, the attitude of Socrates, who dialogues with people and treats them as equal partners or the attitude of Plato, who simply lectures the mob?

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 97,060

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Philosophic Care in the Life of Plato’s Socrates.Mary P. Nichols - 2018 - In Paul J. Diduch & Michael P. Harding (eds.), Socrates in the Cave: On the Philosopher’s Motive in Plato. Cham: Springer Verlag. pp. 287-314.
Colloquium 2 Saving the Appearances of Plato’s Cave.Adriel M. Trott - 2021 - Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium of Ancient Philosophy 36 (1):31-56.
Free to Care: Socrates’ Political Engagement.Roslyn Weiss - 2018 - In Paul J. Diduch & Michael P. Harding (eds.), Socrates in the Cave: On the Philosopher’s Motive in Plato. Cham: Springer Verlag. pp. 165-183.
Heidegger's Deconstructive Interpretation of Plato in the Light of Platons Lehre Von der Wahrheit.Ali Asghar Mosleh & Reza Dehghani - 2012 - Journal of Philosophical Investigations at University of Tabriz 6 (10):159-180.

Analytics

Added to PP
2022-06-23

Downloads
23 (#782,744)

6 months
16 (#285,856)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Two Concepts of Liberty.Isaiah Berlin - 2002 - In Liberty. Oxford University Press.
The Sophists.W. K. C. Guthrie - 1969 - London,: Cambridge University Press.
Critique of Cynical Reason.Peter Sloterdijk - 1987 - Univ of Minnesota Press.
Heidegger.Charles Guignon - 2014 - Routledge.
Plato: political philosophy.Malcolm Schofield - 2006 - New York: Oxford University Press.

View all 22 references / Add more references