2. Introduction
Plato's Allegory of the Cave is not the rosiest take on the
reality of human existence. It envisions the world as a
dark cave, human beings as trapped prisoners, and all of
our experiences as nothing but shadows on a wall.
According to Plato's allegory of the cave, the way we
perceive things around us and the way we lead our lives,
is actually not the "truth". We human beings are leading
ignorant, incomplete lives, following the paths, rules,
norms, ethics, set by the previous generations, without
questioning them.
4. Question?
Why was the Plato's allegory of the cave written??
The son of a wealthy and noble family, Plato (427-347
B.C.) was preparing for a career in politics when the trial
and eventual execution of Socrates (399 B.C.) changed
the course of his life. He abandoned his political career
and turned to philosophy, opening a school on the
outskirts of Athens dedicated to the Socratic search for
wisdom. The Allegory presents, in brief form, most of
Plato's major philosophical assumptions: his belief that
the world revealed by our senses is not the real world but
only a poor copy of it, and that the real world can only be
apprehended intellectually.
5. Connection/Themes
There are several themes represented in the allegory
of the cave, one of the first themes you come across
while reading the Allegory of the Cave is ignorance.
The chains binding them to the cave could merely be
interpreted as a metaphor for ignorance, as if they
wanted to fulfil enlightenment, all they would have to
do is ask questions and seek the truth
6. Life/Academic
Experience
Plato makes a good point we often do lead incomplete lives
following rules, the norms, etc. Sometimes we get so boxed in
doing the same thing over and over again not only do we age
ourselves beyond our years but we miss out on the pleasures
and joys of life. Life is meant to be lived, to be creative and think
outside the box.
The prisoners in the cave have innate conceptions of the forms
(according to Plato) so they understand what the shadows on
the wall are as they use their natural inclination however the
guards misguide there understanding of the world and the
shadows as they see it in an imperfect light in its material form,
due to ignorance they believe the shadows on the wall are
reality and they attach exterior noises to what they see on the
dark cave wa
7. Quote
“My opinion is that in the world of knowledge the idea
of good appears last of all and is seen only with an
effort, and when seen, is also inferred to be the
universal author of al things beautiful and right,
parent of light and of the lord of light in this visible
world.”
People are born blind and do not have the capacity to see.
Those with free will have sight, but can abandon it by shutting
their eyes.
8. Conclusion
Open your eyes to the world around you. Get in the
habit of seeing in the dark. When you have acquired
the habit, you will see ten thousand times better than
the inhabitants of the den. You will see truth and
beauty.
9. Works Cited
http://www.shmoop.com/the-republic/cave-allegory.
html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/allegory-of-the-cave-summary.
html
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html
http://www.studymode.com/essays/The-Themes-
Adresses-In-The-Allegory-1203301.html
