Plato's Cave Analogy Essay

Plato’s cave analogy is one of the most profound philosophical ideas of ancient and modern times. This simple idea, is that a prisoner who has only known a cave and its shadows on a wall as his only tangible reality, but then when released, learns the truth of existence, which none of his fellow prisoners can comprehend. This is used to explain the dangers of ignorant bliss and the rewards of true illumination. The cave analogy is an example of the importance of knowledge, it gives us a look into how Socrates and Plato disapproved of their democracy, which can still be used today as a lead way into the importance of education for any culture.
The cave analogy gives the reader insight on the importance of understanding life and never settling
for obliviousness. It makes the statement that ignorance is never happiness because true knowledge can set one free of their restraints of society. One has to undergo steps in their pursuit of true enlightenment and what one sees and hears is really just opinion, not true knowledge. If one wants to gain real knowledge, one has to get it through philosophical reasoning. Only then can the shackles come off and the possibility of leaving the cave become a reality.
Furthermore, since the importance of this philosophical principle has been described, next will focus on how this can be applied to contemporary culture. Today, like the prisoners in the cave, numerous people are bound by what they can see on the surface. Many governments and religious leaders like it this way, so they falsify the images people see and the values of education. People have become complacent and feel that they rather not know the truths about how their governments and religions run societies. They then are the prisoners who never escape, but will kill anyone who tries to free them.
Finally, after going over how this analogy can be useful to modern culture, now emphasis will be put on how this shows Socrates and Plato’s true feelings toward their democracy.
Socrates had experienced the effects of this analogy first hand. First, one needs to take into consideration that the democrats of his time represented the ones controlling the shadows on the walls. This of course made the prisoners content with this reality. Likewise, anyone who questioned this reality or truth, would be considered a disruptive nuisance. They would then face the possibility of execution, just as Socrates. Therefore, it is obvious that they both did not care for the injustice of democracy, which is the ignorant ruling the unaware.
In conclusion, one can see that the importance of true unfiltered knowledge can lead to freedom from the manacles of ignorance. This analogy can be applied to the modern world in how the masses our blissfully unaware of the truths of what and how their political and religious leaders run the world. Democracy is not as perfect as some would want one to think and this analogy shows Socrates and Plato’s true feelings on the matter. Plato’s cave analogy is an insightful philosophical breakthrough that is just as important today as it was in ancient
times.