Plato, fetters round the neck, and the Quran

Studia Philosophica Wratislaviensia 4 (XVI):27-45 (2021)
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Abstract

I analyze figures and themes of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” evident in chapter thirty-six of the Quran. I argue that the two texts share (1) a neck fetter fixing the head; (2) a spatial organization of barriers before and behind and cover- ing above; (3) a theme of failure to see the truth and assault upon those who tell the truth, and (4) a theme of transcendent reality as a context of meaning. I argue that the Quran displays an inheritance of some Platonic thought in Arabic at least two centuries prior to any known translation of Plato.

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Victoria Holbrook
Istanbul Bilgi University

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