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Lesson Four How Do We KNOW What Is Real?. Learning Objectives. To understand ways in which philosophers and theologians have cast doubt on even our most basic beliefs about what is real. 2. To apply and explore the four accounts of what is real introduced in the last lesson.
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Learning Objectives • To understand ways in which philosophers and theologians have cast doubt on even our most basic beliefs about what is real. 2. To apply and explore the four accounts of what is real introduced in the last lesson. 3. To reflect on how much you really know about the world.
THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT by John Godfrey Saxe (a nineteenth-century American poet) based on an Indian fable http://youtube.com/watch?v=bJVBQefNXIw
It was six men of Indostan, To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach'd the Elephant, And happening to fall Against his broad and sturdy side, At once began to bawl: "God bless me! but the Elephant Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried, –"Ho! what have we here So very round and smooth and sharp? To me 'tis mighty clear, This wonder of an Elephant Is very like a spear!"
The Third approach'd the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: "I see," -quoth he- "the Elephant Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out an eager hand, And felt about the knee: "What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain," -quoth he,- "'Tis clear enough the Elephant Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said- "E'en the blindest man Can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can, This marvel of an Elephant Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun About the beast to grope, Then, seizing on the swinging tail That fell within his scope, "I see," -quoth he,- "the Elephant Is very like a rope!"
Questions for discussion • Are any of the men right? • What do you think the elephant might represent? • How are we like the blind men? • In what ways might we be ‘blind’ to what is ‘real’?
Plato’s Cave www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F7GhASOdM
Questions for discussion • What was ‘real’ for the prisoners? • What is Plato saying is ultimately real? • How much of what we think of as ‘real’ is illusion or shadow to Plato? • How does Plato’s view compare to what you thought about the four definitions of what is real explored in the last lesson?(See next slide for a reminder!)
Physical objects are REAL Human ideas are REAL Eternal principles are REAL What is most valuable is REAL
Could we be mistaken? • Complete the chart by: • Giving a summary with examples for each account of what is real. • Thinking of ways that we could be mistaken in relation to each of these accounts.
To sum up… • In what ways are the stories of the blind men and the cave similar?Think of the MEANING of the stories.
Homework / Extension Do you agree with Plato’s ideas about what is real? Some questions to help you think about this: • Do you agree that only eternal principles are real? • Why might Plato doubt that physical things are real?Do you think those are good reasons? • What do you think is most real?
