How would you react if you found out that you have been living a false reality? A lie? Would it provide you with new purpose? In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave", these characters are ignorant of the reality which they live in and have to make the decision whether to ignore or change the situation. In Frederick Douglass’ “Learning to Read and Write”, and Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read”, both these characters struggle with learning to read on their own.
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.
Allusion: Allusion refers to when an expression makes an indirect reference to a person, thing, place or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. Example : "Oh Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel." (Frankenstein, pg 94).
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.
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.
Plato was a well-respected, intelligent philosopher and a student of Socrates. He understood the risks it took to try and educate the public on new ideas because he had witnessed firsthand the trials of Socrates. In book 7 of “The Republic,” Plato writes an allegory about a cave with 3 prisoners. This allegory could be interrupted in many ways, but I believe he introduces the passage as an analogy explaining what it’s like to be a philosopher who’s trying to educate people. Most people in the world are not only comfortable in their ignorance but are aggressive to anyone who points it out, and that’s exactly what happened to Plato’s teacher.
In order to fully comprehend knowledge Plato provides an explanation through his illustration of the Allegory of the Cave. To do this Plato differentiates between individuals who mistake sensual knowledge for the truth and individuals who actually do see the truth. Plato places prisoners inside a cave who have been there since birth and have never seen the outside of it. Inside the cave there is a wall that the prisoners consistently stare at. People outside of the cave walk along the wall which then projects shadows of the objects they are essentially ‘holding’.
#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.
Many individuals question human nature and how our society is created to find justice. “Allegory of the Cave” written by Plato, a Greek philosopher, was a dialogue between Glaucon and Socrates. The Allegory depicts the idea that some people are seeing the truth to be aching. People were born to be told things, which naturally believed is hard to know what is true. They are unable to see the reality and when told the truth, it is hard for people to accept it any other way.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is at its core a metaphor for what Plato believed to be wrong in Greek society at the time. The fact
I have been living in a cave with some of the decisions or all of them that I have in my life. Is this world just too much that we need to “condense” what we learn for a bigger picture? Sometimes this may be the case and other times it could just be our imagination/ or own interpretation coming into play. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” tells us how we are born into the cave and we believe what is in there. There is a lot of misconceptions in this world today, is it that we have been “locked” in the cave and then were released to see the real image of what we were seeing.
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.
I am regularly amazed by the power and profound impact a film can have one’s life. As we watch movies at different intervals of our lives, the movies can also be special markers of what defines our own human experience. When I first saw this film some seventeen years ago during its initial release, I was in my mid-twenties. I was in awe of the experience.
