Posted by Char on April 25, 19101 at 01:11:16:
I have a paper due soon on the subject heading. I have a very rough beginning but I'm not sure if I'm on the right track. This is what I have so far:
Katabasis may be thought of as a symbolic death and resurrection, or a kind of rite of page in which the hero learns something and frequently returns changed in some aspect. A katabasis leads to the sublime vision of truth and goodness, and begins with a descent, a narrow and murky stretch in which it would be easy to become lost. In The Republic, Socrates is the hero and his journey is a quest for knowledge and truth. Socrates states that he knows nothing and therefore he has already begun the journey down, for the quest for truth begins with the acknowledgement of ignorance. Katabasis can be directly ociated with the Myth of the Cave. The prisoner that breaks free of the chains goes into the light and discovers the Truth of Forms, but must go back down into the cave and share his knowledge with others.
I want to link the Allegory of the Cave to Katabasis and discovery of the truth. I'm really not sure how to connect everything. Is Socrates like the prisoner who has broken free and seen the truth & he has come back to share with the others? Socrates claims not to know the truth. Do you think that I'm on the right track at all? If anyone could help I would REALLY appreciate it.