Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

In the Plato’s allegory of the cave, a scenario is laid out for us to imagine. The people in the scenario have been in a cave since birth and are bound in a manner that does not allow them to look around but only in front of them. From this position they can only see shadows cast from behind them. Here they see the shadows cast by statues placed on a partial wall. They believe these shadows to be the real because this is the only thing they have ever known. Then one prisoner is freed from his bonds and is able to look upon the fire and the statues that caused the shadows. Initially, he suffers pain from the light and disbelief at the imagines he now sees. He then begins to grasp how the fire causes the shadows cast by the statues and believes them to be the most real thing in the world.
Here he feels pain from the light and is unable to look upon anything other than shadows. As his eyes begin to adjust to the new light he is able to view reflections of objects. He then is able to view the real objects. When he sees these objects he realizes that these are the true objects and are more real than reflections, shadows, and statues. From there he is finally able to look upon the sun. He understands that the sun is the cause of all the objects and the cause of sight. He understands the sun to be the true form of good. He then returns to the cave to tell the other prisoners about what he has seen. When he returns to the cave and informs the other prisoners, they refuse to understand what he is telling them and threaten to kill him if he tries to free them (Kreis,