Truth from Plaro and the Nietzsche's perspectives.

Essay by izzetkuCollege, UndergraduateA+, May 2003

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Our common sense helps us to understand the word "truth" most of the time. For instance, if someone saw an oasis in the desert, it is true that you have seen that oasis and it is also true that there is nothing in the desert, the easiest way of verifying it, is to grasp the sand. Then truth is a relationship between an existing condition and statement in daily usage.But it is not always so easy to grasp the truth,contradictions and questions arise on further,when trying to understand the meaning of truth, whether people really know the truth and how we can reach the real truth or what the motive for truth is.Those questions have been the great deal of philosophers for centuries and still being thougt on to find an answer.Plato and Nietzsche are of those philosophers searching for truth in different perspectives.

The basic question of Plato is'What's truth?'and searches for it.

In Plato's allegory, we begin life as prisoners chained to the walls of a cave. We are in the darkness of the cave and have oriented our thoughts around the cloudy world of shadows. We only see the dimly light shadows, what we are familiar with and take it to be real as we are so attached to the mere appearances in the visible realm and leave all the ideas behind .We don't realize that we are in prison and don't understand that we judge life through visible life standards. One day a force makes us turn and take us to the intelligible realm.

In each step towards the sun-the world of true appearances eyes experience confusion through this enlightment. The contrast between the shadows, reflections and actual objects was for Plato the measurement for designating the level of enlightment. This enlightment is...