Plato's Allegory Of A Cave

In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave the people think that their entire reality is the shadows that they see on the walls of the cave. Plato explores the truth and criticizes that humanity does not question what is real. Plato explores that the human understanding and accepting of what is real is difficult and

Symbolism is how an author is able to illustrate a certain concept by attaching meaning to an entity. In the case of “Allegory of the Cave”, Plato uses the shadows cast by the flames as a symbol and the light of the sun as another symbol (201). Plato presents the issue of whether or not the prisoners (if exposed to the actual objects that cast the shadow) believe that the shadows portray a greater sense of truth (202). Glaucon then makes the statement, “Far truer” (202). Glaucon’s reply to Plato’s question (Socrates in the context of the story) justifies that the shadows of darkness blind one from the greater truth.

Socrates uses the sun to describe how the light from the sun illuminates the prisoner’s ability to see the real object rather than the illusion of the shadow. Socrates uses the sun as an example to depict how the light from the sun illuminates the truth.

I will explain both philosopher’s methods when it comes to viewing the everyday world, talk about their similarities and differences, and then choose Descartes’s method regarding Rationalism. I agree with Descartes method a lot more than Plato’s because I feel that inborn knowledge is a form of deception and escaping your reality, like Plato would suggest, would only leave you to be deceived even more. Both Plato and Descartes believe in Rationalism, and they also fear uncertainty. These two philosophers want to answer the same basic question, “What is the difference between opinion and certainty” (Palmer 39). Plato believes that all

In Plato’s “Allegory of a Cave” the main goal and plotline for the prisoner was to be able to go to the light to gain a full concept of truth, reality and justice. After passing the entranceway, he is met by the light which provides him “sharp pains” which eventually turn into being dazzled by it. However, as he grows customary to the light and the enlightenment that is brought forward to him, Plato questions whether he will fully grasp the notion of it. To present instinct Plato writes, “And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain his his eyes which will make him turn away to thale refuge in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the thing which are now being shown to him? True, he said.”

The allegory of the cave contains a very poignant message about learning and new experiences but it’s not real. It’s written as Socrates telling a story in order to illustrate his point. The first man is forcibly removed from the cave and shown the light, creating a painful experience. Douglass’ story is autobiographical and it shows a true need for knowledge in order to be free from the bondage of slavery.

His definition equivocates knowledge and courage itself, rather than saying knowledge is necessary for courage. However, knowledge is not the only necessary condition for courage in his definition. Thus, the particulars of fearful and hopeful become problematic for Socrates. As Socrates points out through further questioning if one were to have such knowledge as stated by Nicias - one would have knowledge of all virtues, “of practically all goods and evils put together” (199d1). The elenctic method draws out contradictions in Nicias beliefs, leading again to a conflicted answer.

The shadows on the wall represent the perceptions of those who believe empirical evidence ensures knowledge. If you believe everything you see and hear instead of seeking it out for yourself then you are not seeing the truth only a mere shadow of it. The escapee represents the teachers who want to seek the truth on their own outside the cave of society and outside of the senses. The return of the escapee represents the teacher attempting to teach the truths about society and what they saw when they became enlightened upon leaving the cave, but all they see in front of them is what they want to believe about the outside world.

Final Exam Plato’s cave allegory demonstrates how blinded we could be by the world around us. Plato proves to us that we are able to think and speak for ourselves even if we have no prior knowledge of a certain subject. Prisoners were enslaved in a cave while not being able to turn their heads all they could see was what was in front of them. The puppeteers would project the image of puppets which provided the enslaved with the shadow of what they thought was reality. The prisoners had a perception of what they thought was a real object but instead it was just a projection of fiction that was not real along with the echoes that were portrayed inside of the cave.

At the beginning of Part I, the allegory of cave by Plato's Republic emphasizes how sense experience serves as an important role for the gaining of true knowledge. He demonstrates how the shadows created by the puppeteers influence the prisoners' minds to view the world (Plato 5-6). However, I think that sense experience has its own limitations hindering the way to explore new knowledge. First limitation is that inference from sense experience may come up a misguided premise because of the weak relationship in between. Aristotle proposed that things in nature are nonbeing, potential being and actual being (Lindberg 22).

But as his eyes adjusted, the newly freed prisoner would be able to see beyond only shadows; he would see dimensions and reflections. The escaped prisoner represents the Philosopher, who seeks knowledge outside of the cave and outside of the senses. Here, the Sun represents philosophical truth and knowledge and the Prisoner’s intellectual journey represents a philosopher’s journey when finding truth and wisdom. In a way this allegory represents Plato’s idea that knowledge cannot be transferred from teacher to student, but rather that education consists in directing student 's minds toward what is real and important and allowing them to apprehend it for

“Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exist in the soul already;” (Plato). Spoken by Socrates in reference to the philosophy of life, this quote depicts the meaning of broadening our horizons in order to gain knowledge and escape the shackles that confine us in the form of deceit. This quote is portrayed in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” as the prisoners detained in the cave are deluded by their perception of reality, and the prisoner that escapes loses that distorted world and becomes enlightened. The cave is a representation of the hidden lies in which the prisoners are provided as the premises of their knowledge and are restrained from the truth to remain ignorant. Ultimately, one of the prisoners discovers that the world in actuality is

Education liberates us from ignorance. Without education we depend on others to guide us, and allow them to manipulate our ideals so we are unable to tell the difference between ideas and reality. In "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato, he emphasizes the importance of education by first depicting the lack of it on a group of imprisoned human beings. One escapes and is exposed to a new perspective on life. In comparison to Malcolm X 's "Learning to Read" excerpt from his autobiography, Malcolm speaks on self education and it 's positive impact on his life.