Study Questions Exam # 2
1. What does Plato think Knowledge is? How is belief different from knowledge (what
does Socrates mean when he says that the objects belief “both are” and “are not”).
2. Socrates claims both (1) The best philosophers are useless and (2) philosophers make
the best rulers. Explain how Socrates uses the simile of the ship to show how both of
these claims can be true. How is this simile also a critique of democracy? Do you agree
with this critique? Explain your reasoning. (Book VI 487b-489e)
3. Explain the simile of the sun. How can Plato reconcile this view of reality with the
existence of evil?
4. What is a platonic form? Give an example. How are the forms causes?
5. What do the shadows and statues represent in the allegory of the cave? Why does
Plato suggest that most people are like the people who see only the shadows?
6. Explain how the allegory of the cave illustrates two reasons why philosophers are the
best rulers.
7. What does the allegory of the cave tell us about Plato’s view of education?
8. Explain the four sorts of unjust city and the corresponding kinds of unjust people
9. Explain and critically evaluate the three arguments Socrates gives for the view that the
life of the just person is better than the life of the unjust person (Book IX)