File puptcrit/puptcrit.0702, message 115


From: "Tina Farmilo" <CFAR-AT-gulfislands.com>
To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org>, <Angusson-AT-aol.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 20:17:54 -0800
Subject: [Puptcrit] shadows on the walls of the cave


Re Fred T.' s riff on shadows on the walls of the cave - 

 

.That one might imagine the cave paintings at Lascaux coming to life (or
appearing to do so ) in the flickering light of a fire. I was thinking that
perhaps the imagination of early man might have been 'sparked' by this or
seeing his own shadow move over the walls of the cave. I wondered, too, if
this might have been the precursor to shadow puppetry. Further, I wondered
if perhaps early man - say, the creator of the 'Venus of Willenburg' wished
somehow that he could animate this figure? I mean, was that the next step?

 

All very naive, I suppose, but I wanted some way to 'find' a beginning of
puppetry. A stretch, no doubt. I'm no scholar. But at least the 'imagery'
(no pun intended) - the 'possibility' works for me. One could say that the
conclusions arrived at by archaeologists, based upon a fragment are
speculative at best. An educated guess, perhaps?

Any takers?

 

Best,

Fred T. 

 

-- reminds me of the famous  bit in the "Republic" (Plato: 427-347 B.C.)
where Socrates is trying to enlighten his pupil about the nature of
philosophy and truth... my italics. 

 

[Socrates] And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is
enlightened or unenlightened: --Behold! human beings living in a underground
cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the
cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and
necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being
prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind
them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners
there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along
the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them,
over which they show the puppets. 

[Glaucon] I see. 

[Socrates] And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all
sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone
and various materials, which appear over the wall? Some of them are talking,
others silent.

[Glaucon] You have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners.


[Socrates] Like ourselves, I replied; and they see only their own shadows,
or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of
the cave? 

[Glaucon] True, he said; how could they see anything but the shadows if they
were never allowed to move their heads? 

[Socrates] And of the objects which are being carried in like manner they
would only see the shadows? 

[Glaucon] Yes, he said. 

[Socrates] And if they were able to converse with one another, would they
not suppose that they were naming what was actually before them? 

[Glaucon] Very true. 

[Socrates] And suppose further that the prison had an echo which came from
the other side, would they not be sure to fancy when one of the passers-by
spoke that the voice which they heard came from the passing shadow? 

[Glaucon] No question, he replied. 

[Socrates] To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the
shadows of the images. 

[Glaucon] That is certain.

 

. and so forth. The Allegory of the Cave can be found in Book VII of Plato's
best-known work, The Republic... here in translation by Benjamin Jowett
(Vintage, 1991)

 

Love the list - never know what it will spark next!

 

Cheers!

Tina

OneYellowDog studio

 

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