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Analyzing Plato's Allegory Of The Cave From The Republic

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The first philosopher that I will be engaging in the practice of self questioning is Plato and his story of the Allegory of the Cave from the The Republic. Allegory of the Cave according to Plato is a theory of human perception of finding the truth, and not becoming ignorant even if the people around you are. A prisoner in the story escaped after being tied down their whole life and was forced to stare at a wall that shows shadows of everyday objects and animals. The shadow is created through two dimensional objects held by non prisoners in a walkway in front of a fire pit. They create shadows into a wall that prisoners are forced to watch, and that is what they believe to be true for their whole life. The prisoner after escaping, sees the real world in three dimension and the sun for the first time …show more content…

He came to the conclusion that the sun was the source of life, and then discovers beauty and meaning. He comes back into the cave, and tells the other prisoners about what he had discovered, but they were too ignorant, and was settled into the life they already had thus refusing to believe what the escaped prisoners has been saying and threatens to harm him if he decides to set them free.
I chose Plato's story of the Allegory of the Cave because it has deepened my own thoughts about my own current and future life. Being a prisoner inside the cave, and choosing not to escape and be free is compared to taking the easy way out in life. You chose to be ignorant and finding the short path to the happiness you think you want and deserve. This concept relates to my life currently due the fact that I am studying Sociology for my bachelors, and planning to get a master's in Social Work right after. I chose this path for myself not because it was easy, but because this is what I want, this is my passion, and this is who I choose to be. I can easily take the easy way out, and study something that will benefit me more

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