Ignorance Is Bliss In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

The phrase “ignorance is bliss” has many different ways of being interpreted. The idea that what we do not know cannot hurt us, and that it is better to be in a situation whereby we are ignorant to the truth, rather than a situation where we know a hurtful truth, is one that can be debated at length. One of the best examples of the idea of “ignorance is bliss”, and the impact that the truth can have on people, is the Allegory of the Cave, a concept created by the Greek philosopher Plato in the fourth century BCE. The allegory shows how our perspective can change radically when given new information, and how that new information, when shared with others who are not aware of it, can give them a radically incorrect idea of the truth, when not taken in the proper context. Here, we will first explain the concept of this Allegory of the Cave, before interpreting its meaning and how it related to the greater ideals, values, and convictions that Plato and his philosophical works stood for during and after his lifetime. 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

It is furthermore an interesting example of the way that people react to change and to others trying to change their worldview. Plato’s Allegory was meant to serve as a guide for other philosophers, letting them know that they, as the people escaping the cave and trying to see the real world, would be met with resistance and anger by everyday people. The allegory was an example of the ignorance of people, and how that ignorance in itself is bliss. Plato understood that people do not want to have their worldview changed sometimes, even if it is for the better in the case of a more accurate and complete worldview, and in creating the allegory, he created an extreme version of