Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

“’Well, they’re hard put to it for words to describe what they do – with laughable results, sometimes. All this squaring, extending and adding. They’re full of utterances of that kind. Everything they say is in terms of doing things, and practical applications, whereas the truth, I take it, is that this is a subject which is pursued entirely for knowledge’s sake.’” (Plato, 527b)

Socrates’ belief that geometry is a genre that is only studied for the sake of knowledge is one that most certainly does not apply to the world today, and not to the world of Ancient Greece either. Socrates, as described in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave finds that mathematics is a very philosophical pursuit because it’s aim is truth and knowledge, not practical applications. It is a flawed view. Mathematics, and especially geometry, are key elements of many aspects of the world. ...