Quote:
Originally Posted by SATCHMO
Its a reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave.
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Well, then the point becomes that by doing science, we waste time studying something which is not real, only representations of it. Yet here we are, sending rovers to Mars .. Obviously, we are able to take scientific knowledge and put it to practical use and even if you believe it's somehow wrong, the fact we can do these things should prove that it does in fact have a practical use and, I think most would agree, a value.
We're sitting here writing on a forum for example. Is that a result of studying shadows on the wall?
Needless to say, I think it was a bad metaphor and a poor comparison.
edit :
Plato was talking about philosophers as the ones who see more than just the shadows on the wall, the reality. Philosophers, not religious people. Thus, it's also a bit cheeky to use the cave allegory by Plato, academia's grandad, in such a way.