Plato's Allegory Of The Cave In The Republic

In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in the Republic, he alludes to two analogies. An analogy has two fundamental definitions: the distinction between the intelligible and sensible and the proportion of such ideas. The “Allegory of the Cave” helps to show what part of reality we can see and know and the other part of life in which we are trapped and unknowing to the possibilities. It has a lot of hidden symbolism and structure that a first glance may sometimes be hard to see. Socrates uses the Sun and Divided Line analogies to further his emphasis on the intelligible and sensible. The “Allegory of the Cave” has meaning in our lives today and how we grow and prosper as people of knowledge. Specifically, Plato uses an allegory because it makes the

In the Allegory, when the man first goes into the world, he cannot open his eyes because the light is too strong. “When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities” (Republic 515e-516a). This metaphor of sight and light is used by Socrates because as the sun radiates light, we are able to see and obtain knowledge. In the Sun Analogy Socrates uses the sun which is good and light which is truth to convey the message of the direct correspondance to goodness and truth. When we use our eyes to see our realities we become more knowledgeable. The Divided Line linearly separates the sensible and intellectual into two sections. The line is further divided between perception, faith, understanding and reason. The Line is important to understanding the Allegory because there is a distinct separation between the sensible and intellectual. The Allegory of the Cave borrrows from these analogies by differentiating knowledge from reality and using senses in order to obtain ideas such as truth, good and