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.
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.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave was an interpretation of the aversion humans have to things that are outside of their experienced reality, as well as a proposed solution. Firstly, I can’t help but notice that there is a racist, classist, sexist, and ableist element to Plato’s proposal. Allegory of the Cave is found within The Republic, which is a book that describes “the education required of a Philosopher-King”. Racial minorities, poor people, women, and disabled people are all immediately eliminated from the selection of potential candidates.
In Plato’s “Allegory of a Cave” the main goal and plotline for the prisoner was to be able to go to the light to gain a full concept of truth, reality and justice. After passing the entranceway, he is met by the light which provides him “sharp pains” which eventually turn into being dazzled by it. However, as he grows customary to the light and the enlightenment that is brought forward to him, Plato questions whether he will fully grasp the notion of it. To present instinct Plato writes, “And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain his his eyes which will make him turn away to thale refuge in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the thing which are now being shown to him? True, he said.”
Experiencing a new discovery leads to a better understanding of life. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, it explains how a group of prisoners are inside a dark cave looking at shadows believing it to be realistic; however, one prisoner gets free and leaves the cave and experience the outside world seeing real nature and the brightness of the sun and adjust to it. That person returns back to the cave to tell what he had experienced outside the cave to the other prisoners as the other prisoners would not listen to him and neglect his words. That person however cannot adjust to the darkness inside the cave once he got adjusted to the brightness of the outside world. Like Plato’s allegory of the cave, good living does require us to leave the cave.
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.
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.
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.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave illustrates the conversation between Socrates and Glaucon, as Socrates tells Glaucon the story about the men being held captive in a cave since birth. He begins by describing how they are positioned and chained up towards a wall with a fire burning behind them in order to see the puppet figures shaped as animal figures and shape of humans move throughout the cave behind them. Which these figures are represented to be their reality. Then suddenly, one of the prisoners are freed and dragged outside the cave and forced to come in contact with the real world. Socrates explains that he is shocked and overwhelmed with the new surroundings, and starts to piece things together.
#2 Plato’s Allegory In Modern Day Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is about the human perspective and enlightenment. In todays society Plato’s allegory is still relevant and is deeply rooted in education. College students are a perfect analogy for the “Allegory of the Cave”. We are told from the very beginning that we need to have an education to be successful in life.
Plato created the theory of The Allegory of the Cave in which prisoners are facing a wall that shows shadows and echoes cast by things they cannot see. The shadows that the prisoners see are made by people in front of a fire there is a parapet, however the prisoners think that the shadows that are being casted are real people. Plato created this idea to portray how humans are the prisoners and how we are controlled by society, media, and the government. He believes that once we break that bond with society we learn more about ourselves and reveal our true identity. Also the deeper we get away from society and the world the more we learn about ourselves and identity.
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
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.
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.
What is the best way to summarize Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave? The famous theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, best described the summary when he said that “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, is it the illusion of knowledge”. Of course, he was not describing The Allegory of the Cave but simply, that is a one line accurate description of the summary. Was that enough for one to actually understand The Allegory of the Cave? What if that was the only description one received?
