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Compare Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

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In this paper, I will evaluate the ‘White Bear’ episode of Black mirror in relation to Plato’s Allegory of the cave. This will include referencing Plato’s allegory in the context of ‘white bear’ and using Plato’s theory of forms to further explain his allegory. Moreover, I will highlight the similarities and differences between the two, in order to create an in-depth comparison. I will then critically evaluate if the main character in ‘white bear’ is better off knowing the truth of her situation, considering her psychological state, overall health, and perception of reality. Finally, using the knowledge I have gained, as well as my own opinion I will conclude if I would prefer deception or true reality in various situations in modern life. …show more content…

Many believe this answer is simple due to their experience of reality. However, for the prisoners and the main character in white bear true reality is life inside their manufactured environments. Therefore, reality can vary between people. When Plato attempted to educate people on his allegory there were many people who disagreed. These people were said to be comfortable in their ignorance. In basic terms, this means people where happy with their lack of knowledge. When confronted about their lack of knowledge, most people responded with hostility. This behavior was typical during Plato’s era.
Plato’s allegory of the cave is based upon the conception of true reality and manufactured reality. The true form of reality relates to life outside the cave whereas manufactured reality relates to shadows cast against a wall inside the cave. In the case of ‘white bear’ true reality would be life outside the amusement park where as the manufactured reality would be life inside the amusement …show more content…

Knowing that these people are actually not going to kill you will provide some reassurance. I am aware the main character will be in a state of panic and immense stress but knowing your overall fate can offer an end point which she previously was not aware of. Furthermore, knowing why she is in the situation will remove the confusion which she shows at the beginning of the episode. The main character can therefore come to terms of her situation. This way she will realise she is not innocent and only has herself to blame which may be easier to handle than believing someone else has determined her

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In the Allegory of the Cave by Plato the people who can only see shadows create their own version of the truth based on what they know, “To them [the people stuck in the cave unable to move],’

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Ap Language Summative Assesment Unit 1 Lamin Williams 9-12-16 4A Mrs. Archer In “ The Allegory of the Cave” 360 BCE, Plato emphasises that the cave explains human existence and envisions the world as a dark cave, and humans trapped as prisoners in that cave. Using symbolism he supports this statement by demonstrating to his students that our minds conceive the sources of shadows and the material world we live in as false truths. His purpose is directed towards his students, to help others out of the cave, to reveal the burden of false truths also know as the shadows. Plato uses a didactic tone to help his students understand and encourage them not to stay in the cave, but to free themselves and help others become free of the shadows the

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681 Words | 3 Pages

Film Analysis Essay The core ideas of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” are reiterated and illustrated through the characters and situations of the movie “Rebel Without a Cause”. The theme expressed in both works is that certain ideas are shown to us, and we accept them as the truth. But, if someone explains that what we think has always been true is actually a lie; we have a difficult time believing it. Three teenagers’ lives intertwine into this allegory, and are shown by remarkable similarities between the two.

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1) In the allegory of the cave, Plato’s main goal is to illustrate his view of knowledge. A group of prisoners have been chained in a cave their whole lives and all they have ever been exposed to were shadows on the wall and voices of people walking by. The prisoners in the cave represent humans who only pay attention to the physical aspects of the world (sight and sound). Once one of them escapes and sees the blinding light, all he wants is to retreat back to the cave and return to his prior way of living. This shows that Plato believes enlightenment and education are painful, but the pain is necessary for enlightenment and it is worth it.

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1656 Words | 7 Pages

This essay is on The Allegory of the Cave, Book VII of The Republic by Plato. This paper is written to explain what the allegory, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one, or a story with two levels of meaning” is as construed by Plato. This paper will 1) Present that the allegory presented in this story is a number of Plato 's key philosophical postulations 2) The strategy he used to explain his philosophical views in The Allegory of the Cave. 3) How do his views affect and or apply to reality, education and media in our society today.

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956 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the conversation, we see themes of perception and reality that are similarly consistent throughout Plato’s, Allegory of the Cave. Where Plato presents a hypothetical scenario in which prisoners are enclosed in a dark cave since they were born and their bodies are positioned so that they can only see shadows on the wall in front of them, they perceive these as reality because they

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648 Words | 3 Pages

In the story by Plato, the allegory concerns what one calls human perception. In his story, Plato claimed that to gain real knowledge, one must use philosophical reasoning. If a person does not use their philosophical reasoning, the knowledge that they gain through what they see or hear, is just an opinion, a sliver of the true reality. Plato’s tone in The Allegory of the Cave is serious, he presents all this information and the consequences. The tone was also dark in the way that, when he explains his allegory he feels sad at the blindness of

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281 Words | 2 Pages

Tom’s rigid adherence to rules and perceptions contrasted with Huck’s tendency to question authority and think for himself. If they had both been brought up in the same level of society would they still have become friends? Huck’s opinions, distrust and emotional personality were formed due to growing up with a drunk for a father, not being indoctrinated with social values and often being homeless. He has his own sense of logic and fairness which makes him question and really ponder the things that Widow Douglas and society try to teach him, especially when it comes to the ownership of Jim. While because Tom Sawyer was brought up in a comfortable lifestyle and he has formed his ideas and opinions from the adults around him and

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The Allegory of the Cave is a brilliant writing by Plato that really puts into perspective how we are living as a part of a materialistic and consumer society. The darn thing was written almost 2,500 years ago, and considering the fact that the allegory is still relevant today, Plato’s allegory is surprisingly very close to what contemporary society is like. His arguments are undoubtedly strong since he patches all his arguments well to lower any possibilities of counter arguments, but there is still room for doubt. Also, even with those weaknesses, the prisoners in the allegory are still indisputably similar to the people of today, and the cave doubtlessly like the modern society. In this essay, I will discuss some of Plato’s strength and weaknesses in his arguments as well as how the allegory still applies to the current people and society.

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Introduction Plato, a famous Greek philosopher wrote the Allegory of the Cave. He tried to answer some of the profound questions which arose about the nature of reality. He tells the story of 'Allegory of the Cave' as a conversation between his mentor, Socrates (Plato’s mentor), who inspired many of Plato's philosophical theories, and one of Socrates' students, Glaucon (Plato’s older brother). He uses an allegory as a short informative story, to illustrate 'forms' and the 'cave,' in his main work, The Republic (which first appeared around 380 BC). It is one of the most perceptive attempts to explain the nature of reality.

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1093 Words | 5 Pages

Plato’s theory, ‘The Allegory of the Cave’, aims to explain the nature of reality and human perception. With this theory of his, he aims to answer questions like ‘why are we here and what is reality?’ He explains this theory as a conversation between his mentor, Socrates and one of his students, Glaucon. Plato claimed that the knowledge gained through our senses is not real knowledge. In fact, real knowledge is the knowledge that is gained through deep philosophical reasoning.

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1658 Words | 7 Pages

Comparing this situation from the story to one’s real life, it can be inferred that in most cases people just see one side of a coin while the reality is perceivable only when one be aware of the two sides. The allegory of the cave also portrays that understanding of the reality is obtainable

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2035 Words | 9 Pages

The phrase “ignorance is bliss” has many different ways of being interpreted. The idea that what we do not know cannot hurt us, and that it is better to be in a situation whereby we are ignorant to the truth, rather than a situation where we know a hurtful truth, is one that can be debated at length. One of the best examples of the idea of “ignorance is bliss”, and the impact that the truth can have on people, is the Allegory of the Cave, a concept created by the Greek philosopher Plato in the fourth century BCE. The allegory shows how our perspective can change radically when given new information, and how that new information, when shared with others who are not aware of it, can give them a radically incorrect idea of the truth, when not taken in the proper context. Here, we will first explain the concept of this Allegory of the Cave, before interpreting its meaning and how it related to the greater ideals, values, and convictions that Plato and his philosophical works stood for during and after his lifetime.

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1159 Words | 5 Pages

In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave the people think that their entire reality is the shadows that they see on the walls of the cave. Plato explores the truth and criticizes that humanity does not question what is real. Plato explores that the human understanding and accepting of what is real is difficult and

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838 Words | 4 Pages

1.0Introduction This report aims to clarify how the video games change the underage children and analyse if the video games are good for the underage children. 2.0The Issue and background to the debate. After the smart phone have been invented, we can see people playing video games everywhere.

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