Truth In Plato's The Allegory Of The Cave

Empirical knowledge, gained from our senses, is sometimes mistaken for actual intellectual knowledge. When people are introduced to the “shadows” in life, they get a sense that it is the truth. This is the effect of never experiencing reality, but instead, living by false realities created in the subconscious mind. In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato delineates that the world of sensory knowledge is just a world of illusion, not the truth. This depiction holds true, and the only way to escape this ignorance and false reality is through enlightenment and swallowing the truth.

The concept of religion exemplifies how a subject, receiving no contradictory information to what they are introduced in early childhood, is already being introduced to

These people are the ones who strongly believe that, in particular situations and cases, society is being hidden from the truth. While some may believe what they are told is the truth, some go against the usual and produce theories of the actual truth. Once they do extensive research and analysis, they feel obligated to share these “conspiracy theories” with society. Whereas some people remain unconvinced that these theories are what they are cracked up to be, some of these theories are gaining popularity in society and are said to make sense and explain the previously unknown. This choice of whether to believe or not to believe is in the hands of the subject. This ability to choose one’s faith is integrated in “The Allegory of the Cave” as well. Once the prisoner escapes and learns reality, he pities those still trapped in his previous situation, the cave. Just as the public being hostile to those who wish to enlighten them with theories, the prisoners are so comfortable in their ignorance that when the escapee tries to tell them about the real world outside of the cave, they find him ridiculous. “Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes” shows just how ill-informed the prisoners are and them wanting to remain in this

The entire world is shadows on a wall. With each passing day, these shadows become what people know to be reality. As long as one is enthralled in these shadows, one will not be able to understand abstract ideas. “The Allegory of the Cave” imitates the comparison between those who decide to enlighten themselves to those who not only choose to not walk this intellectual path, but those not willing to let others educate them either. Plato displays perfectly how one’s shackles of ignorance can only be unlocked through experiencing, understanding, and believing the world outside of the world of darkness known. Although this is suggested as a way to gain intellectual knowledge, this is a process that cannot be forced, but instead, lies in one’s own hands. It is safe to say that change is hard, but change is good. In order for one to break free from ignorance, one must be willing to step out of his comfort zone and step into the unknown world of