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Ignorance In Plato's The Allegory Of The Cave

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Philosophy, which can be defined as studying the nature and existence of all things, is naturally occuring in the human mind. At sometime or another, most people question their existence, seeking a meaning or a purpose. While many live their lives without finding an answer, there are just as many people who dedicate their lives to finding a meaning. In 399 BCE, Socrates, a brilliant Athenian philosopher, allegedly claimed that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This quote is one that many modern philosophers live by, as many feel that if you do not question why you are here, you are not living your life to its fullest extent. I would never call myself a philosopher, as I don’t feel I could find or handle the truth; however, I don’t …show more content…

Within this piece, Plato uses the analogy of men chained up in a cave, who have never been exposed to direct sunlight. The only thing these men see are shadows of figures on the walls, which are a result of a fire located behind them. When one of the men is free from the cave, he becomes able to see more than just shadows, and is able to see the world for what it truly is. He returns to the cave to spread the world of a beautiful world outside, but is met with objections from his ignorant counterparts. This piece represents the mindset of many people today, who refuse to look past the small fraction of the truth they are given, and accept it as the whole truth. The shadows in the cave represent this small part of the truth, or the false truths that we are presented by politicians, our parents, and other powerful figures in our live who can easily influence us. The man who was able to see the outside world, or the whole truth, was eager to share his findings with everyone he knew, believing that knowing the truth would lead to a happier, more fulfilling life. This view completely contrasts that of those still constrained to the cave, who are content with the truth that they know, regardless of whether or not it depicts reality. Through The Allegory of the Cave, we are able to deduce that people who learn to read between the lines and identify the larger picture can be just as happy, and fulfilled, as

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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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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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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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The "Allegory of the Cave" is just that, an allegory, or a symbolic story. In which, I like to associate Plato 's Allegory of the Cave with education. Applying his analysis of conception of reality, it shows how a person start off in ignorance (chained to the dark well) and has to be compelled, quite against their wishes often, to be unchained and start the "steep and rugged ascent" into the light, enlightenment, or education. The very root of the word "education" is from the Latin for "to lead out of" implying a leading out of darkness or ignorance. Moreover, once a person gets into the light, they do not want to go back into the cave (darkness).

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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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