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Free From Mental Imprisonment In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

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Breaking Free From Mental Imprisonment
In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” he creates a visual representation of the importance of forming our own reasoning instead of relying on others to do it for us. The story starts in a cave and is focused on prisoners who have been chained so they cannot see around them or move anywhere else but their spot in the cave. Socrates, great philosopher and mentor, and Glaucon, Plato’s brother and student, discuss what would happen if a prisoner was released from the cave and what he might think about his old view of life compared to one's life outside the cave. At the end of the discussion, it is revealed that one must form their own understanding of their surroundings and seek a higher truth than what they have grown comfortable with. Plato displays a rational and philosophical way of thinking that is crucial to both past societies as well as society today. …show more content…

Socrates tells Glaucon, “ The idea of the Good is discovered last of all, and it only perceived with great difficulty. But, when it is seen, it leads us directly to the finding that it is the universal cause of all that is right and beautiful. It is the source of visible light and the master of the same, and in the intelligible world it is the master of truth and reason” (Plato 8). Socrates uses a rational way of explaining that good is only achievable when an effort is put into the actions of those who seek it. The only way humans will ever be able to truly understand the idea of good and other higher beings is through one’s own intellect and knowledge by seeking out answers and using reasoning to form

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Plato tells us that the prisoners are confused on their emergence from the cave and that the prisoners’ will be blinded once they had been freed from the cave. After a period of time they will adjust their eyesight and begin to understand the true reality that the world poses. The stubbornness to develop a different perspective is seen in much of today’s society. The allegory of the cave is an understanding of what the true world is and how many people never see it because of their views of the society they are raised in.

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Plato compares a number of things in this essay- the material world to the world of ideas, the life of the mind to work of governing, silver and gold to virtue and wisdom. How does he use his comparisons to make his arguments? 2.)Plato creates the Allegory of the Cave to be a conversation between his mentor Socrates and one of his student Glaucon. Plato sets the story to demonstrate that the “blinded” prisoner or in a more cultural sense the men of iron. The Greeks created 4 classes of civilization the gold,silver,bronze and the iron.

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The Allegory of the Cave illustrates Plato’s and Socrates’ belief that the onerous processes of obtaining, possessing, and sharing knowledge are reserved for the robust and wise members of society: philosophers who possess the strength and motivation to bear the burden associated with truth. The three prisoners in chains know their world only through small reflections from the outside because they have never “seen anything of themselves and one another other than the shadows cast by the fire on the side of the

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Plato’s Republic, Book 7, talks about the metaphor referred to as "the allegory of the cave. " This metaphor in philosophy is use to describe the importance and effect education or lack of education has on the human mind. In book VII, education is referred to as a light that brightens the different paths that exist in life. It helps open the human mind to things that it was unaware of. Another point made in book VII, was that by educating yourself you become less ignorant to what is out there in the world.

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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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Socrates’s allegory of the cave in Plato’s Republic Book VII is an accurate depiction of how people can be blinded by what they are only allowed to see. The allegory does have relevance to our modern world. In fact, all of us as a species are still in the “cave” no matter how intelligent or enlightened we think we have become. In Plato’s Republic Book VII, Socrates depicts the scenario in a cave where there are prisoners who are fixed only being able to look at the shadows on the wall which are projections of things passing between them and the light source.

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Plato wrote “Allegory of the Cave” in The Republic. This is a story about the growth of an individual from ignorance into an educated leadership role. Plato describes a cave in which there are several prisoners. They are chained at the neck, arms, and legs. They cannot see behind them or even to the side of them to glance at one another.

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“Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exist in the soul already;” (Plato). Spoken by Socrates in reference to the philosophy of life, this quote depicts the meaning of broadening our horizons in order to gain knowledge and escape the shackles that confine us in the form of deceit. This quote is portrayed in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” as the prisoners detained in the cave are deluded by their perception of reality, and the prisoner that escapes loses that distorted world and becomes enlightened. The cave is a representation of the hidden lies in which the prisoners are provided as the premises of their knowledge and are restrained from the truth to remain ignorant. Ultimately, one of the prisoners discovers that the world in actuality is

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In Plato’s Republic, he uses his teacher Socrates, in order to tell his Allegory of the cave, to explain his theory of Forms, the divided line and what to Plato is the ideal Political system. There are prisoners tied and chained from the neck down in front of the cave’s wall. Behind them at the opening of the cave there is a fire in front of which people are passing holding up statutes reflecting shadows on the cave wall. The prisoners can only see what the people decide to show them. This to Plato resembles society and how it only shows people what is convent, which in most cases it blind people from the Truth.

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Gracie Jaarda 3/6/2023 Plato’s Cave Essay Lund Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in Accordance with Scripture Plato’s Allegory of the Cave elaborates on a symbolic description of the human condition as it relates to knowledge and wisdom. He presents a dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon depicting the limits of perception by comparing people to prisoners in a cave chained to a wall. The prisoners are oblivious to the real world, having been in the cave all their lives, only seeing shadows of puppets. Once a prisoner is released from the darkness, he will be blinded by the light. The prisoner later realizes that the light outside of the cave is the truth and goes back into the cave to the other prisoners to enlighten them with the truth.

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Of all of his works, one of Plato’s most famous is The Republic, which is a lengthy book that covers outlines several different societal aspects such as, the ideal form of government, the acquisition of wisdom, and the definition of justice. These are all lofty goals as each of the aforementioned categories could be considered subjective, as each person could find a different form of government to be ideal, or have a different opinion of what justice is to them. One of the most famous chapters from The Republic is commonly known as “The Allegory of the Cave,” in which Socrate’s shows Glaucon the effects of education. Plato outlines the process of education through the tale of a group of prisoners that for the entirety of their existence have

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Searching for the truth is very challenging, as the world today entrenched in lies. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” briefly tells a story about cavemen being chained on most parts of their body, restring all movement including their head, since childhood. Then, he discussed the consequences inflicted onto the cavemen, specifically their perspective towards the truth after being chained for a long period of time in the dark cave, which resembles many events occurring in a person’s daily life. Based on the discussed effects, the author argues that human beings should always seek the real meaning of truth.

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Enlightenment itself is a concept that cultures around the world believe in and how people can master this concept. Enlightenment is an elevated understanding of life and learning how one may remove any negativity from their life. Societies view enlightenment as important because it helps people understand any and all forms of negativity never promote happiness and prosperity. One piece of literature that vividly shows this concept is Plato’s, “Allegory of the Cave.” Plato highlights how Socrates converses with Glaucon about how the man who reaches the light at the end of the cave would be free from negativity; the man discovers the truth which leads him to enlightenment.

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Are we always at the mercy of others and our own experiences? Are the truths we cling to always reality? Are we ever truly free or are we always prisoners in our own mind? These are some of the questions that went through my mind while reading Plato’s allegory of the cave. Through them I’ve come to understand one of the biggest themes in this allegory is our ability to “shackle” ourselves mentally, but also our ability to free ourselves if only we have the courage.

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