Teddy Hendrickson
Dr. McMilion
Political Philosophy
11/19/23
Reading Reflection 5
Plato's Republic: Book 6- The Divided Line
Plato uses his divided line analogy to distinguish relative knowledge from actual knowledge.
Plato presents the idea of the philosophers as the only ones who can have any actual knowledge. So how
does one know if what they have learned and gained understanding is actual knowledge or relative? The
analogy of the divided line is used to serve as a way to show how much opinion has infiltrated what we
believe is real.
The divided line is presented in multiple sections of understanding: two sections and four total
segments. When Platos describes drawing the line it is said to be split up unequally. The section of the
visible realm is much smaller than that of the intelligible. This is interesting because Plato tells the reader
that what one can see or sense is a minimal part of being human. Plato is saying that, as humans, we live
both physical and spiritual lives. This means that the physical realm can not restrict our knowledge. In the
physical realm, we often have trouble defining things, and this is because everything around us is not
entirely physical. The first section of The Divided Line comprises shadows and reflections in the physical
realm. This is the lowest level of understanding. If one were to look at the reflection of a phone, one
would easily mistake it for something else. The second section of the analogy is the visible objects and
things in the physical realm. This is anything that we, as humans, can see or sense, For example, a tree,
another person, or things we humans have made. This is the section that most people base their
knowledge on. Everyone understands how a tree can grow and how it forms, but nobody understands why
a tree is. In this section or the physical realm, if someone were to keep asking questions about any object
like the tree, eventually, there would become a point where something is not known. There is a lack of
understanding because nobody understands what something truly is. Next is the first section of the
intelligible realm. This section contains mathematical reasons and what Plato describes as the lower
forms. Plato believes that mathematical reason is a universal knowledge. This is because two is two, no
matter who one is or where they are from. It does not matter if one has little to no knowledge of
mathematics; one can still distinguish five apples and take away three; one has two left.
Plato also describes the forms, like shapes. There is a perfect version of a square. No matter how
hard someone tries to get good at drawing, they could never draw the perfect square. It does not exist in
the physical realm; something will always be slightly off about that square. In the final section, Plato
introduces the Forms, which are what justice and goodness are. These Forms are eternal and not bound by
time. Plato does not say directly that there is a way to understand these forms, but it is that of a
philosopher's job. Only a philosopher can understand the forms. This is why someone should strive to
become a philosopher: they will be able to have proper understanding and knowledge.
