Plato’s simile of the cave has for over two millennia been the model for a particular understanding of the limitated nature of human knowledge. Castoriadis’s understanding of human knowledge differs from Plato’s in that the artificiality of knowledge, and by extension of culture and society in general, is seen not as a barrier to true knowledge but as a necessary precondition for any knowledge whatsoever. Plato dreams of leaving the cave and encountering the world in the clear light of day; Castoriadis contends that the labyrinth of human creation is our only means of encountering the real. Plato tries to use philosophy to design a way out of the traps humans find themselves in, traps they build for themselves. Castoriadis seeks no such escape and believes that to make such an ultimate escape the business of philosophy or politics is misguided, if not dangerous.

中文翻译：

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挖一条路：柏拉图的洞穴和创造的迷宫

两千多年来，柏拉图对洞穴的比喻一直是对人类知识有限性质的特殊理解的模型。Castoriadis 对人类知识的理解与柏拉图的不同之处在于，知识的人为性，以及通过文化和社会的扩展，不被视为真正知识的障碍，而是任何知识的必要前提。柏拉图梦想着离开洞穴，在明媚的阳光下邂逅世界；Castoriadis 认为，人类创造的迷宫是我们接触真实世界的唯一途径。柏拉图试图用哲学来设计一条出路，摆脱人类发现自己陷入的陷阱，他们为自己建造的陷阱。卡斯托里亚迪斯不寻求这样的逃避，并相信哲学或政治的事业是被误导的，最终的逃避是错误的，