But then there's Pluto, god of the underworld in Roman mythology. His domain was the realm of the dead, the eternal resting place beyond mortal reckoning of time. A strange symmetry, wouldn't you agree? The man who pondered the deepest questions of being, and the deity overseeing the boundary where time holds little sway.
Perhaps the (play-tow) in this connection represents the "convoluted understanding" of Plato's works via the prism of his namesake and the underworld's ruler.
But, now, what if our component of Pluto is not the Roman god of the underworld, but the planet? What would the connection, then, be with Plato?
The dwarf planet Pluto, exiled from the ranks of the celestial elite, much like the ideas and forms in Plato's allegory of the cave lay hidden beneath the surface of mundane existence; in Plato's famous allegory, the prisoners first encounter the shadows cast by the puppets and statues, believing them to be the ultimate reality. Only when released from the cave do they ascend to perceive the true Forms - the perfect ideals of justice, virtue, and beauty themselves.
Today in the 21st Century, we realize that there are millions of other Plutos in the Oort belt just as worthy as being a planet. We've been "made smarter" in the 21st century. Just as the prisoners came to recognize the relativity of their initial beliefs, so too did our cosmic understanding grow with the reclassification of Pluto.
But don't think for one second that Pluto is not a planet! Long live Planet Pluto!
No comments:
Post a Comment