By Ava Lozner and Schuyler Daffey
Illustration by Emma Finkelstein
Affirmative:
Gemma scarfs down the remainder of her John Jay omelet and sprints towards Hamilton Hall. Her gargantuan backpack, filled with the entire CC syllabus, thuds against her spine as she scurries up 5 flights of stairs. A rapid scan of the classroom reveals that her usual seat, directly in Professor Ratcliffe’s eyeline, is occupied! Only one seat remains empty, tucked into the back corner, next to…Chad. She shoots Chad a frosty glare to convey her distaste for his lack of smart business casual attire, inadequate participation in class, and general demeanor.
She berates herself for being distracted by her classmate’s inadequacy and turns her attention to Professor Ratcliffe. She slides her chair forward for a better view, then begins to grin widely, bobbing her head vigorously at his words. She is determined to demonstrate her insightful analysis of the cave metaphor and the ways in which it resounds in a 21st century context after having spent her entire weekend in the Butler 4th floor stacks reading Plato’s Republic. But she is so focused on nodding attentively that she only just realized the room has become silent! What was the question Professor Ratcliffe just posed? Something about first impressions of the book? The cave? Gemma launches her hand, rocket-like, into the air, smacking another classmate in the face in the process.
“I was struck by Plato’s examination of collective and individual will; he forces us to reflect on whether we are complicit in this societal ignorance in his cave analogy; there is something ineffably potent about this idea. Indeed, I found myself grappling with this notion of what truth even refers to - is it an objective, definitive idea, or is it merely a widely held conviction, and how should we go about differentiating one from the other? Plato also introduces the idea of philosopher kings, who he affirms will not participate in subterfugacious acts and abuse the powers of the state, an idea which struck me as contrasting significantly with some Hobbesian ideas raised in ‘Leviathan’, along with how to create an ideal state, evoking some advanced - contemporarily speaking - ideas of gender equality, which also really captured my attention… and if we take into account Karl Popper’s critique of The Republic, there is certainly much to be said on this sort of dichotomy in his invocation of–”
” – Gemma, Gemma remember to breathe,” Professor Ratcliffe interrupts, “you’ve certainly given us…much… to think on. Now, would someone else like to expand on the cave analogy, and this idea of knowledge or truth? How might we view this allegory through the lens of education?”
Gemma hoists her hand into the air, smashing a different classmate in the face this time, while nodding vigorously. Yes! Professor Ratcliffe can definitely see her nodding! - but Professor Ratcliffe looks past her! She wonders what Machiavelli would do in this situation. (She leaves The Prince under her pillow every night, hoping its realpolitik lessons will seep into her brain, equipping her for her junior summer on The Hill, position as a White House aid, followed by law school, and her eventual bid for the presidency) As Professor Ratcliffe continues to look past her, Gemma begins waving her hand increasingly frantically in the air - remembering to smile, no wider than that - but it doesn’t make a difference. To Gemma’s chagrin, he chooses... Chad? Not Chad! to respond to his question.
Negative
“Afternoon, everyone. I’m sure we all spent our weekend deep in thought about Plato—I know I did. How are we feeling with this one? ... Alright, mixed reviews. Some of us haven’t made it out of the cave yet, it seems … hahaha. Well, as with all of the other books on the syllabus, we could really spend an entire semester just on the Republic. But alas, the Core office—”
[2:10:46 p.m.] https://open.spotify.com/
Chad’s AirPods connected
“Welcome To The Party” - Pop Smoke
“... Plato is quite the character to tackle in a handful of classes, so let’s get started. I’m excited to hear all of your thoughts. What were your guys’ first impressions? … Yes, Carter—”
[2:11:03 p.m.] https://chatgpt.com/
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“... so yeah, I thought that was interesting.”
“Interesting point, Carter. Hmm … Would you elaborate a bit on your point about the forms?”
“Yeah, um … there was, for example, the section where he talked about, like, for example, the bed and the chair … and there were different—”
[2:13:25 p.m.] https://open.spotify.com/
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“... and I was wondering what you all thought about his idea of these individuals who have made it out of the cave and are reaching towards divinity, as people who are supreme—”
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“I got the chance to read a couple of your discussion posts before class. Lilah brought up an interesting—”
[3:15:39 p.m.] https://courseworks2.columbia.edu/discussion_topics
Plato Day 1 Discussion
[3:26:44 p.m.] https://chatgpt.com/
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[3:30:31 p.m.] https://courseworks2.columbia.edu/discussion_topics
Plato Day 1 Discussion
“I was struck by Plato’s examination of collective and individual will; he forces us to reflect on whether we are complicit in this societal ignorance in his cave analogy; there is something ineffably potent about this idea. Indeed, I found myself grappling with …”
[2:44:58 p.m.] https://open.spotify.com/
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“...in subterfugacious acts and abuse the powers of the state, an idea which struck me as contrasting significantly with some Hobbesian ideas raised in Leviathan—”
[2:51:24 p.m.] https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections
[2:59:46 p.m.] google.com
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[3:01:44 p.m.] https://play2048.co/
[3:02:22 p.m.] https://open.spotify.com/
“PUFFIN ON ZOOTIES” - Future
“I like the direction we’re taking. Plato touches on the philosopher kings—these people who have emerged from the cave and see the truth—and talks about the duty they have to bring this knowledge back down into the cave to govern the people of the city. I wonder what you all think of this … Someone who hasn’t spoken today …”
Fuck.
“Chad? What were your thoughts on this passage?”
Fuck.
“Yeah … um … I actually was writing down some of what I was thinking on this … Let me just …”
[3:05:34 p.m.] https://chatgpt.com/
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“Yeah… so… uh… sure thing, here’s a summary of Plato’s thoughts on – oh, uh… Plato’s Republic, written between 380 and 375 BCE… uh… oh: Plato believed the philosopher king must utilize their knowledge of the forms to lead their civilization justly, similar to the allegory of the cave, in which Plato details the obligation of those who have emerged from the cave and seen the light to return to spread their knowledge to those who are still inside of it. Consequently, Plato argues, the kallipolis will have the most just leadership possible, as its leader will be the person within the city who has gotten the closest to grasping the divine concept of justice through their devotion to the study of the forms.”
[3:09:19 p.m.] google.com
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