Saturday, March 27, 2004

Only one God's eye view

I was reading - and still am reading - Gilbert C. Meilaender's book, The Theory and Practice of Virtue. In it he refers to Plato's allegory of the cave, and claims that what Plato is describing is a cave that we have created for ourselves and placed ourselves in. We have to find a way to enlighten ourselves and leave the cave, then come back and tell others that are still in the cave about the world outside. Those in the cave lack knowledge, and only through leaving the cave can one "see the light." Meileander goes on to compare Richard Rorty with Plato. Rorty makes statements about the truth such as, "the truth is what our peers allow us to get away with." So for Rorty the truth and knowledge is a construct of our society. Meilaender asserts that Plato is in this same position. Now, for Meilaender, the only way we can leave the cave is with the aid of God's grace. This begs the question, is the Christian (or theistic) worldview the only worldview in which an objective truth, apart from society can exist? This appears to be what Meilaender is claiming. At face value, I think that I agree with Meilaender.

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