Allegory Of The Cave Essay

Allegory Of The Cave Essay
Many individuals question human nature and how our society is created to find justice.
"Allegory of the Cave" written by Plato, a Greek philosopher, was a dialogue between Glaucon
and Socrates.. In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, depicts the idea that some people are seeing the
truth to be "aching. People were born to be told things, which naturally believed is hard to know
what is true. They are unable to see the reality and when told the truth, it would be hard for people
to accept it any other way. As a result, people would exceed its limits to find the truth. Some may
say this allegory, is the reflection of our world today .There are many representations that can be
shown how this can be applied to how we live our everyday lives. One of...show more content...
To relate, the prisoners of the cave can't see the truth because they are looking at everything the
wrong way, all they are able to see are the shadows of the truth. Altogether, he talks about seeking
the truth and also having the problem of being rejected by it. Thousands of years later, this
allegory can still be relevant to modern society. In today's society, people are so occupied that
there are many side distraction that prevent the actual truth. I would consider that "Plato's
Allegory of The Cave" is so general that it can be conveyed in today's society. An example of this
image would be fast food chain restaurants across the world. They are the problem in the world and
are not helping the society. In the world today, there is an increase in health problems each year.
They are affecting many people's lives, thus related to their high–calorie food they are producing.
Commentary to the story, the people born in this world can be considered prisoners.They are
chained down like the prisoners as they follow laws and regulations. Next, the owners of these fast
food chains resemble the puppeteers in the cave. This is significant because they both display an
image that isn't entirely true and is terrifying. Puppeteers symbolize the master of the group or
leaders. LIkewise, an example could be our government as they make the laws that
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The Allegory of the Cave
Plato, a Greek philosopher, wrote the Allegory of the Cave to compare the effect of education
and the lack of it on our nature. It questions reality, knowledge, and the meaning of life. He
described life as like being chained up in a cave, forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone
wall. The Allegory of the Cave is found in Book VII of The Republic, in which the Greek
philosopher envisioned the ideal society by examining concepts like justice, truth, and beauty. In the
allegory, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern since birth with their backs to the
entrance, unable to turn their heads, and with no knowledge of the outside world. Occasionally,
however, people and other things pass by the cave...show more content...
Greek history begins around 2000 BCE, when the first Indo–European settlers appeared around the
Aegean rim. In the stimulated a feeling of independence among the people; recognizing themselves
as the supporter of their own collective lives, they began to call their new communities poleis. A
polis referred to the physical town the people resided in and the group identity they shared. Being a
part of a polis meant more than happening to live in a place; it meant taking part in a network of
common commitments, responsibilities, and rights. The people of Greece gathered up armies,
created colonies, and developed the first philosophers. They established the city–states of Miletus,
Sparta, and Athens. Athens tested a variety of constitutions, some democratically created, some
dictated by sporadic autocrats. As the population grew, so did the desire to challenge the authority of
the aristocrats. Legal distinctions between classes, tribes, and precincts were made, laws were
drafted and redrafted, and both executive and judicial institutions were reorganized. This led to
tension that would become the beginning of many wars and battles, setting Greece up to enter its
Golden Age.
The start of the Persian Wars in 499 BCE and the end of thePeloponnesian War in 404 BCE mark
the Classical Age, when Greece observed immense growth in civic life, economic prosperity, artistic
expression, and literary achievement.

Allegory Of The Cave
The Allegory of the Cave means that, people do not see things as they really are. That mankind
assumes concepts but they do not have the full picture; One reason is because we only have five
senses. For example, in Allegory of the Cave, Socrates explains that the chained men see the
shadows and assume that they are being cast from the real item. However the shadows did not
come from the real things they were just illusions and models. It also means that as humans, we
tend to believe what is in front of us and not dig deeper to make sure we are correct.
Plato was a Greek philosopher, whose cousin is Glaucon, and Socrates was his teacher. Plato had his
own school, which was the first university in history. Plato wrote this dialogue so he can...show more
content...
Plato's message is for us to continue to explore and investigate and not get stuck with our five
senses because our five senses or forms limit humans and are only useful to some extent. Also for
us to learn from mistakes, learn about nature, humans, purpose of life, etc. so we as humans can
improve our lives and become more successful. He wants us to be philosophers, to talk and explain
with one another, but to be careful to who we explain. In a way, he says to receive answers for our
own benefit and only help our self to avoid ending like the Freed

Reality is the most intriguing concept in philosophy; throughout the ages, philosophers have been
trying to understand the difference between real and unreal things. Philosophers allocate a whole
branch of philosophy, Metaphysics, to study the nature of reality and existence. However, Greek
philosophers, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, were the first to question the nature of reality and
its ultimate form. In the "Republic", Plato tried to explain the idea of reality throughout his
allegory of the cave; the allegory represents various philosophical ideas about the metaphysics of
reality, epistemology, and education. In the allegory, Plato imagined a group of prisoners in a cave
where they lived their entire life chained so that...show more content...
However, he used the outside of the cave to represent the mind of a philosopher, who goes further
to examine and believe in the world of ideas. Plato wanted to emphasize that philosophical
thinking gives the mind an impulse to discover more layer of reality. In the allegory, the shadows
stand for the lowest form of reality that regular people recognize while the physical things are just
another higher layer of reality. However, these layers are interconnected with each other; every
layer gets its reality of the layer above it. According to Plato, the shadows get their reality from
the physical world which gets its reality from the world of ideas, the highest form of reality.
Similarly, the allegory distinguishes between different layers of knowledge; every layer of
knowledge shapes different layer of reality. In the cave, we know that the fire behind the prisoners
is the source that shapes the shadows on the back side of the wall; the prisoners would see nothing
without the fire. On the other hand, we know that the sun outside the cave is the source that gives
the physical objects their appearances; the physical world would disappear without the sun. Both
the fire and the sun represent the knowledge that defines reality. The prisoners, who have the lowest
form of knowledge, the fire, define reality as being the shadows while people outside the cave, who
have obtained a higher layer of knowledge, the sun,

The Allegory of the Cave Essay
The Allegory of the Cave or also known as, Myth of the Cave, is a good example of explaining the
feature of the way people think. It is a concept that demonstrates how humans are fearful of change
and what they don't know. Plato says that men are living in an underground cave and it is a situation.
The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment.
Plato talks about being free, everyday life, knowledge, and essentially what he wrote to be true. I
think that he was very unique with his writings because there are so many ways to look at the
world and his way was just one. He was educated highly and is recognized as a philosopher to this
day.
In The Allegory of the Cave, the men living in...show more content...
Secondly, opinion gives way to knowledge through reasoning, and finally the realization of the forms
is mirrored by the level of understanding in the ways of thinking. The input to the resist for
knowledge is the reasoning skills acquired through mathematics as they are functional to
understanding ourselves. The shadows on the cave wall change all the time and aren't worth much,
but the reality outside the cave never changes and that's what makes it important. The standards are
mainly our concepts of courage, love, friendship, and justice.
This is a clearer example of what Plato wrote about. Socrates said that virtue is knowledge which
is to know what is right is to do what is right. All wrong doing is the result of ignorance, nobody
chooses to do wrong purposely. Therefore, to be honest you must have true knowledge. Plato was
trying to find a solution to the problem that although there is fundamental steadiness in the world
(sun comes up every morning), it is constantly changing (you never step into the same river twice).
An old theory about this problem is that we gain all knowledge from our senses. Plato disagreed
with this. He said that because the world is constantly changing, our senses cannot be trusted.
Socrates sets up a mathematical problem for a slave boy. The slave boy knows the answer, yet he
has not been taught arithmetic. Plato suggests that the slave boy remembers the answer to the
problem, which has been in

The Allegory Of The Cave Essay
In what might be the most famous and recognizable image of Plato's Republic, the message of the
allegory of the cave is present not only in Book VII, but throughout the entire dialogue.
Plato–as–Socrates uses the allegory to express his views on philosophy's role in his city of speech
which is later shown more deeply with the five regimes in Book VIII. The cities in the five regimes
undergo a degradation as philosophy moves further and further away from the ruler; which also
mirrors the cave. Plato reveals his belief that the city and philosophy are inexorably linked through
the soul of the tyrannical man in Book IX, saying that without philosophy the soul withers and
learns to fear and hate the city because of the person's willingness to do whatever is necessary to
achieve their desires. In the various books, the allegory of the cave can be compared and likened
to the actions occurring within the pages of the text. From the very first line in the Republic, the
Allegory of the Cave is shown symbolically throughout the dialogue from beginning to end. At the
very beginning of Book VII, Socrates explains his allegory of the cave. Humans are placed in
chains in the cave from birth. They cannot move and can only see what is directly in front of them.
Behind them, hidden where they do not see, is a wall, a fire, and puppets with their handlers. The
puppets cast shadows on the cave wall in front of the prisoners, and because they have never
experienced anything else, they are

Summary: The Allegory Of The Cave
The synopsis: The Matrix, the excerpts from The Allegory of the Cave and Meditation I of the
Things of Which We May Doubt. The writing makes a person reevaluate what is real, or are we
part of a bigger system that control our every action to be moved like chess pieces to judge our
reactions or; are we dreaming. The three writing are plausible but shows skepticism and
justification. Reality is based on sense perception. (Dew & Foreman p.41) Synopsis; The Matrix
and Meditation I of the Things of Which We May Doubt are similar both excerpt when you are
reading them make you feel like this may be a dream. Both excerpts have similar sensory
experience. These authors make you question some fundamental beliefs. Are we been deceived
by our senses the excerpts make a person ask a simple question is my life an illusion. Neo in the
Matrix could not trust his senses once he found out he was controlled by a machine. Descartes also
could not trust his senses either he though was controlled by the evil genius he thought everything
around him was a delusion of his dream. Characters in the stories was all manipulated in their own
prospected ways, living their reality. The Allegory of the Cave was a little darker excerpt on how
the people have been in the cave since birth and the captures held them as prisoner, although the
prisoners do not realize they are being held captive. In this excerpt the...show more content...
"The Matrix" is a virtual reality world controlled by a computer and "The Cave" is a real world
which had two men as prisoners in a cave giving them shadows of reality. The Matrix was void of
form while the Plato Cave had form. Descartes and Plato suggested we are dreaming and need to
wake up to get back to real reality. The Matrix difference the real word we know is not real at all just
a computer simulation. Descartes believed in a higher power he concluded he senses is being
deceived by the evil

Essay on Allegory of the Cave- Plato Republic
llegory Anthony Guerra
Professor Neilson
Philosophy & Ethics
14 October 2010
The Allegory of the Cave and The Matrix Book VII of The Republic begins with Socrates'
"Allegory of the Cave." The purpose of this allegory is to "make an image of our nature in its
education and want of education" in other words, it illustrates Socrates' model of education. In
addition, the allegory corresponds perfectly to the analogy of the divided line. However, this Cave
Analogy is also an applicable theme in modern times, for example, the movie, The Matrix, is loosely
based off the Allegory. The cave is underground and dark; it consists of human beings who have
been living down there since childhood. These people are almost like prisoners since...show more
content...
In Socrates' mind education is not simply an information exchange; rather it is a painful
experience, since all that one had previously believed is typically wrong. This painful experience
can be seen as the "philosopher" turns around and stares into the light and eventually learning that
everything he had experienced in life were just shadows. These shadows in the cave are mere
images, the lowest of the epistemological form of knowledge in the divided line. The objects
which produce these shadows are the sense particulars. The sense particulars can then be counted
e.g. three tree "puppets" this ability to count corresponds to the mathematical objects level of the
divided line. Then once the person leaves the cave, he is able to see the actual forms, not just
shadows or puppets, he is able to see the real object, and this conforms to the forms. Lastly, the sun
is the thing that makes all life possible which is analogous to the ultimate Good which make all of
the forms of knowledge even possible. In contemporary times, the Allegory of the Cave can be seen
being played out in the movie The Matrix. In the movie, there are two worlds, the world which
people live, a computer generated dream world, and the city of the robots. The people in the world
do not know that they are prisoners of the robots or even think that they are prisoners, in fact, they
do not even know

Essay: The Allegory Of The Cave
Mrs. Brown, my freshman English teacher, sparked my interest in writing as a form of creative
expression, rather than the mindless exercise previous teachers had taught me. Instead of
encouraging her students to write alongside formal guidelines, Mrs. Brown initially allowed each
student to demonstrate their writing abilities through a classic narrative. Her reasoning: narratives
allow her to know her students writing style, their strengths, and their weaknesses. It was this
unrestricting and optimistic attitude of Mrs. Brown's which compelled me to express myself clearly
in my writing and disregard any inclination of forming an essay which catered to a specific rubric.
The daunting experience of submitting my first high school essay reminded me that writing captured
my emotions at a given moment, and it reflected the collection of moments in my life through one
single essay. Writing about Kensington Gardens–an experience which consumed me with fear and
dread–allowed me to finally relax my mind on the topic. Describing the...show more content...
Whorton introduced a concept in critical analysis's that I had been forced to think was wrong my
entire educational career–connecting myself to a piece of literature when analyzing it. In my
critical analysis of Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave," Mr. Whorton encouraged me to relay the
significance of the work as a whole and connect it to myself in order to forge a deeper attachment to
the piece. Through this method, instead of simply stating the main purpose of a piece is to explain
an idea, I have been able to personalize each essay by portraying this idea, rather than stating it, by
utilizing my own personal experiences to further strengthen the message. Additionally, incorporating
emotional allusions, taught by Mrs. Brown, and powerful diction and syntax, taught in eleventh and
twelfth grade, my writing has surpassed a simple capability to explain meanings in literature and
instead express their

3. Explain how the Allegory of the Cave represents Plato's views about the nature of knowledge
and the nature of reality. In the Allegory of the Cave there are chained prisoners in cave who can
only stare at the cave wall in front of them. At the back there is a long entrance with a staircase
the width of the cave and a fire burning in the distance. They see only shadows projected in front
of them from a raised platform and hear an echo that they attribute to what they observe. They
talk about and name the shadows of objects they see before them. To them the truth are the
shadows. Then one day one of the prisoners is released. He is told that what he saw before was an
illusion. Once he is outside it takes a while for his eyes to adjust to the sun. First he observed the
shadows of thing then their reflection and finally the actual object. Remembering his previous state
he goes back to the cave and tries to explain that everything is an illusion but they laugh at him and
think he's crazy. They believe it best not to ascend and they choose to remain as they are. The cave
represented opinion. The shadows that are cast on to the wall represented physical objects. The
prisoners represented the common people (Welles). In this allegory the cave represents opinion. The
chains represented prejudice. The fire represented the sun. The shadows represent physical objects.
The staircase represented philosophy. The outside of the cave represented the transcendental world.
The moment of

Plato was a student of the great philosopher of Socrates and went on to become a very influential
figure in classical Greek philosophy. Plato went on to write the Republic where he sets out to
answer many question such as; what is justice, why does man follow the law, and how do
implications of society affect our behavior. The most interesting topic from the Republic is from
Book VII, the allegory of the cave. With the allegory of the cave Plato gives us the power to break
the chains that bind us down and leads us to see the light. In the allegory of the cave Plato sets
the scene with humans in a cave that have been chained since childhood so they are restricted
from moving and looking around the room. These people only see the shadows casted on the wall
in front of them of objects that people walk with around with and they occasionally he the voices
of these people. These people that have been chained for their whole lives believe that these voices
are coming from the shadows they see on the wall in front of them. Everything that these people
know to be real is a lie, but to them these shadows and the voice they think to be coming from these
shadows is the truth to them because this is all they know. In the book one of these chained
humans is released for the first time in his life. When he gets up he looks around and when told
that what he has seen his whole life is an illusion he is perplexed and still wants to believe what he
has known his whole life is true. The

Samantha Melchor Mrs. Baker IB English HL– period 2 15 December 2014 The Matrix vs. Allegory
of the Cave The Wachowski Brother's film, The Matrix, and "The Allegory of the Cave" from
Plato's Republic are both centered on the concept of how reality is perceived. In both works, there
is someone who is trapped in a false reality but then comes to know true reality. In Neo's case, he
was escaping from a computer generated reality, while in Plato's work, the prisoner was escaping
from inside a cave. Both works share the common theme of the acceptance of actual reality in order
to know truth. In The Matrix, what humans think is reality is actually just generated by a computer
program that projects a reality to the minds humans kept in fluid...show more content...
While in The Matrix, Neo lives in a world that is controlled by machines, the prisoner in Plato's
allegory lives in a cave, controlled by form holders. In the same way, both Neo and the prisoner
manage to escape from the false reality they have been exposed to and come to know reality for
what it truly is. It is revealed to Neo that the life he knows has been carefully constructed by the
agents of The Matrix. Likewise, Plato's prisoner becomes cognizant of the fact that the shadows
projected on the cave walls are not the truth, they are just shadows cast by the form holders. He
sees the fire and as he makes his way outside the cave to his freedom, he sees the sun and becomes
enlightened, both literally and figuratively. In both stories, the protagonists share a paralleled
experience in that they are prisoners and are completely oblivious to the fact that the reality they
think they know is false. Both stories also share the protagonists gaining wisdom as a result of
coming to terms with reality, which is also called self–actualization. In The Matrix, once Neo
understands his new reality, he is able to manipulate the matrix and use it to his advantage. In the
"Allegory of the Cave", the prisoner learns infinite wisdom once he leaves the grips of the false
reality of the

The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, was presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work
Republic (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature".
(Wikipedia, 2017). From what I understood in the text the allegory of the cave is a dialogue between
Plato's teacher Socrates and his brother Glaucon. I believe that the four man parts of the allegory
of the cave are; the cave, the shadow game, the escape and the return. Plato's allegory of the cave
begins by letting the reader know that the article is about some prisoners that are kept in a cave all
chained up and can't even turn around. They have always been kept that way day and night and
they don't get to see any day light at all. They grew up...show more content...
He even realizes that the life he was living before the escape and the guessing game they played was
all useless.
The prisoner then returns to the cave, to let the other prisoners know about everything he learned
and found out in the real word. But the other prisoners didn't believe him and even threaten him; they
told him that if he tried setting them free they would actually kill him.
This whole passage reminded me of my older cousins. Believe me when I tell you that I'm not
proud to say this but I have five male cousins that have been in and out of jail there whole life,
they been in gangs and committing crimes since they were in their early teenage years. They've
committed crime after crime and they never seem to learn. But when one of them got out and
explored the world and realized that the life in jail isn't the same as the life out here in the real
word he decided that he wanted to change his ways, that he wanted to stop being in gangs, stop
committing crimes, stop going in and out of jail and that he wanted to get a job, his own place,
and even continue his education by getting his ged, and even have his own family. His supposly
friend his old cellmates judged him and told him that he was a fake friend and that he knew what
happened to fake people, that was wrong that the good life is running the streets and showing people
who's boss and

Allegory of the Cave Summary and Response Essay
Marlo Diorio
Dr. Mishra – College Writing I
"Allegory of the Cave" "Allegory of the Cave", written by Plato, is story that contrasts the
differences between what is real and what is perceived. He opens with Glaucon talking to
Socrates. He has Glaucon imagine what it would be like to be chained down in a cave, not able to
see anything other than what is in front of him. He tells a story of men that were trapped in a cave
and were prisoners to the truth. These prisoners have only seen shadows. But because of their
ignorance, these slaves to the cave believe that the shadows are real. The story goes on to say that
one of the men has been dragged out of the cave. He is not happy to see the real world, yet upset
because he is being taken...show more content...
It would never be an easy path to walk down, and it would take a lot of struggling. Only certain
determined people will actually make it to the opposite side. Socrates says these most qualified
people should be the ones to lead the public. I believe this is also true in today's society. I say this
because when it comes to election time, we as a country are not going to vote for an uneducated
lunatic. I believe that the president should be someone intelligent with good morals and very
qualified. In order to reach that high point, you must go out of your comfort zone, like the prisoner
did. In life, people go out of their comfort zones all of the time. I've always believed that in order
to achieve something you've never had/done, you must do something you've never done before,
such as stepping out of your comfort zone. Only the best can be found when you make an attempt
to extend yourself as a human being. I relate the cave in this story to the social norm. No one
wants to step out of it because I their life, the norm is all there is. I believe the shadows would
represent all of the other things that could be out there, but they have no desire to go find out what
they are. They are too comfortable with what they have and haven't gone looking for more. The
cave is a comfort zone for the prisoners in Plato's time and for teenagers today. Without the outside
world, there is no curiosity, no questioning. I believe it is important to

Essay on The Allegory of the Cave
In Plato's Republic, the great philosopher describes what is needed to achieve a perfect society. He
addresses several subjects still debated in today's society, such as justice, gender roles, and the
proper form of education. He discusses these issues through his main character, Socrates. Socrates,
another well–known philosopher for his time, happens upon a group of men, and what begins as a
modest question, leads into a series of debates, metaphors, and allegories. Perhaps the most
discussed allegory in today's popular culture is the Allegory of the Cave. Over the past decade,
several movies have mimicked the fantasy, the most profitable being the Matrix Trilogy. But what
makes this story so fascinating? Through it, Plato attempts to map...show more content...
Since these are the only beings they are aware of, the sounds made by the people are also assumed
to come from the shadows. Socrates summarizes their belief system stating, "such men would hold
that the truth is nothing other than the shadows of artificial things," (Book VII, 515c).
After describing the setting of the cave, Socrates asks his audience to imagine that one of the
prisoners breaks free from his bonds, and sees the fire and the statues themselves. He notes that
there would first come pain as his eyes adjust to the new light, and disbelief, as everything he had
previously thought to be real is suddenly proven artificial. However, Socrates assures his audience
that the man would eventually come to realize that the people and the fire are more real than the
shadows had ever been. He would ultimately grasp how the fire creates the shadows of the statues,
creating a mere copy of the real thing. He would then conclude that the fire and the statues are the
most real things in the world.
Though the man would then seem to be educated, Socrates takes the fantasy farther by dragging the
freed prisoner out of the cave and into the actual world. At first, the man's eyes would dart from the
brightness of the sun, and watch only shadows. Eventually, his eyes would allow him to look at
reflections and finally at the actual objects themselves. He then realizes that the trees, flowers,
houses, rocks, and animals he

The Cave: The Allegory Of The Cave
The "Cave" was told as an allegory, a story that is compared to something similar, but unstated.
The "Cave" represents people who think knowledge comes from experience in the world. This is
known as empirical evidence. In the cave believers of this type of evidence believe that they are
trapped in some type of cave. This cave that they are trapped in this cave of misunderstanding. The
shadows are seen as those who believe in this type of evidence and that it guarantees knowledge. If
what you see is what you believe, then that is the truth, it is just a shadow of what the truth is. The
game shows that some people believe that a person is a master when they have knowledge of this
world. Plato showed though that this master knows nothing really and thinks it is absurd to look
up to someone so highly in such ways. The escape prisoner is like a philosopher. This philosopher
is one who looks for knowledge outside of this cave. The sun then shows us philosophical
knowledge and truth. The sun is wisdom. Then there was the return. The other prisoners were
scared of knowing all of the knowledge of this world, so when the escapee returned they were
shocked. The overall lesson of the "Cave" was that sometimes knowledge is a good thing, but
sometimes if someone is...show more content...
They were only really aloud to have their spouse during certain festivals. They were only aloud to
have sexual relations with them during the festivals as well. If they had a child during the
undesignated time, that child would be killed, because it was not conceived at the right time. The
women are also like a guardian of the home, but has limits. When a guardian they are viewed as
superior to the man. Women then later are advocated for to have equal education, which is great for
women. In a way women are held to a higher power than the man, but in other aspects they are held

Analysis of Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" presents a vision of humans as slaves chained in front of a fire
observing the shadows of things on the cave wall in front of them. The shadows are the only
"reality" the slaves know. Plato argues that there is a basic flaw in how we humans mistake our
limited perceptions as reality, truth and goodness. The allegory reveals how that flaw affects our
education, our spirituality and our politics.
The flaw that Plato speaks about is trusting as real, what one sees – believing absolutely that what
one sees is true. In The Allegory of the Cave, the slaves in the caves know that the shadows, thrown
on the wall by the fire behind them, are real. If they were to...show more content...
The people must teach the others of the reality outside of the cave, outside of the slaves' reality.
These are the philosophers. The capacity to learn exists in the soul. Humans need to use their whole
soul to learn, not just use their eyes. Plato writes, "the power and capacity of learning exists in the
soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from the darkness to light without the whole
body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned
from the world of becoming into that of being." (Jacobus 320).
According to Plato, human beings misperception about "reality" also affects one's spiritual growth.
When the slave makes the ascent and sees the sun, he might mistake it for God. Plato writes, "He
will then argue that this [the sun] is he, the guardian of...the visible world...the cause of all things"
(Jacobus 318). Having moved from darkness into light, the slave comes to the conclusion that this
bright light must be God. Plato argues that one?s soul holds knowledge of what is true. When one
learns, one simply remembers. People originate from Heaven where they knew the truth. In the
Bible it states, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by
day" (Corinthians II, 4:16). One is renewed day by day by remembering things that their soul knows,
but that they have forgotten.
Plato discredits

Introduction:
An allegory is a kind of story in which writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the
surface story. One of the most important allegories ever to be gifted to humankind is Allegory of
the Cave. Plato's Allegory of the Cave is one of the most potent and pregnant of allegories that
describe human condition in both its fallen and risen states. The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's
explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. It is also known as the Analogy of
the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave. It is written as a fictional dialogue between
Plato's teacher Socrates and Plato's brother Glaucon at the beginning of Book VII of The Republic.
The allegory of the cave:
Plato illustrates his...show more content...
Continuing the analogy between mind and sight, Plato explains that the vision of a clever, wicked
man might be just as sharp as that of a philosopher. The problem lies in what he turns his sharp
vision toward the overarching goal of the city is to educate those with the right natures, so that they
can turn their minds sharply toward the Form of the Good. Once they have done this, they cannot
remain contemplating the Form of the Good forever. They must return periodically into the cave and
rule there. They need periodically to turn away from the Forms to return to the shadows to help other
prisoners.
There are four specific symbols in the cave allegory; the prisoners, the roadway, the fire and the sun.
the prisoners represents people and philosophers of the real world.
They discuss the shadows because it is the only thing in their world, and they discuss everything
they know. They praise the ones who are quick to recognize the shadowy shapes quickley, just as
society praises inventors and philosophers whenever a new machine or idea is invented, every time
a new creative way to preceive and old thing becomes established.
The roadway is the intermediary, the bridge between the objects and the shadows of those objects.
It seperates what is real from what is projected. The objects are real, colour and shapes illuminated
by the fire behind them. They represent a form of knowledge. The prisoners are restricted to only
seeing a pale ghastly reflection of that knowledge

There are two types of people in the world: those who are able to think with a unique perspective
and those who can only comprehend what is given to them. Philosopher Plato discusses the
importance of questioning the accepted thoughts of the general population in his parable "Allegory
of the Cave." He presents the idea that closed–minded people are only puppets to their masters, the
open–minded thinkers. Those who think from a unique point of view are able to live a better free
life outside of the allegoric cave while the general thinkers are forced to be chained to the inside
only to see their own shadows for inspiration. Plato argues that more people must think like the great
philosophers in order to "go outside." Since Plato was...show more content...
He applies common sense questions that are clear to the audience while reading his text, but are
not so obvious when applying the situations to his or her real life. Using his example of the cave,
Plato remarks the idea of people looking beyond the norm of shadows and wonders "how could
they see anything but the shadows if they were not allowed to move their head?" (Plato 3). Here,
Plato's use of rhetorical questions helps the audience to follow along more easily and to put their
minds into a scenario to find a solution. It may seem clear that Plato's argument is valid when he
says that they can not see anything beyond what they physically see, but that is because he is trying
to send a message: the most obvious thoughts in life may not be so obvious. The author takes
advantage of these mind–boggling investigations when he shows that the main character
"contemplate[s] the sun" and wonders to himself what will others think about life outside the cave
(Plato 13). The use of rhetorical questions shows what the reader is thinking while on a journey
outside of a person's typical comfort zone. He puts the audience into the situation to immerse the
brain into thinking about every possible scenario. The amount of time the reader ponders the
thought of a new idea goes back to Plato's main purpose, to make others think from a new
perspective and not conform to already accepted

The Allegory Of The Cave Essay
Thesis
Allegory of Cave
First what is perception and ignorance? Let us define perception as one's view of life through
rationalization of the external world and ignorance as an assumption without proof and
contemplation. In the "Allegory of The Cave", Plato uses Socrates to explain different types of
people, one who sees the physical realm accepting ideas as they form and one who lives in
knowledge realm by questioning those ideas. People of the knowledge realm are obligated to
helps those in the physical realm by removing what Socrates refer to as ignorance through
questioning. This is shown as prisoners of the cave look to the walls as their perception of their
world which relates to people's limited perception of the world such as people who grown up
religious deny anything outside of God, in addition, people in higher state of perception are
obligated to help those in lower states; this relates to real world as people seek mentors for advice.
First point
In the cave, the prisoners' limited perception of the world is based on the shadows depicted on
the wall and the freed prisoner has a higher perception because he has rationalized the world
outside of the cave. As Socrates state "visible realm should be likened to the prison dwelling, and
the light inside it to the power of the sun, if you interpret the upward journey and the study of things
above as the upward journey of the soul to the intelligible realm" (Grube, p. 189), anyone who
accepts rationalized ideas from

Allegory Of The Cave Essay

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Allegory Of The Cave Essay