Eikasía y pístis . Sobre la complejidad de dos conceptos platónicos

Abstract

The concepts of eikasia and pistis have been traditionally understood as having the same meaning in both the divided line analogy and the allegory of the cave. Some interpreters argue that the prisoners’ condition inside the cave is absurd and that, therefore, eikasia has been introduced merely out of a concern for symmetry. Furthermore, they are divided on the concept of eikasia itself, since some authors consider that those who find themselves in such a state actually see only images and images alone, while others point out that through such images they already see their originals. This paper intends to distinguish between the particular perspectives that determine each case: the ontoepistemological perspective in the line, and the formative or educational perspective in the cave. This ought to allow us, in turn, to distinguish different perspectives concerning the eikasia and pistis conditions, as well as the objects towards which each of these pathemata of the soul is directed.