Summary Of The Allegory Of Plato's Cave

Different perceptions will always be in every situation, but refusing to keep an open mind is where we fail.We as human beings have been programmed since birth to think one way, feel one way and to be captivated inside of this safe zone. The allegory of plato’s cave shows that there is a different perspective in every situation. Anyone who is afraid to leave their state of contentment would be the prisoners kept in the cave. People who are labeled as rebels and even activist for a cause could be considered as the freed prisoner. Accepting the true reality is a difficult task, but it’s better than being arrogant and staying in a comfort zone.
To begin, during the first stage all of the prisoners were kept chained in a cave and given one perception. The video informs about the prisoners having no knowledge of the outside world.In the video, the freed prisoner gradually adjusts his beliefs and sight to the outside world of the cave.Which means that when objects, people or animals pass the cave, the prisoners made their own interpretations of those things and believed them. Fire was perceived as the sun and shadows were emphasized as actuality. They were confined inside of a cave since their early childhood, they were chained up with their backs to the cave entrance and unable to turn their heads. To
think that they believed all of this, it would be almost impossible for anyone to tell them any different.
In the next stage, one prisoner was set free and began to look at the real world and what he believed to be real differently.
In the video, the freed prisoner gradually adjusts his beliefs and sight to the outside world of the cave. When freed from his chains, the prisoner was forced beyond his will to experience the life outside of the cave. He soon discovers that the objects or animals he saw within the cave were not real and they’d happen to be just the shadows. His eyes begin to also adjust to the sun and his very own reflection. All of the things he’s experienced outside of the cave helped alter his recent beliefs about the world and enlightened his mindset of
things.
Finally, when the freed prisoner returns to the cave he is rejected by the other prisoners. The video states that the other prisoners think he has become stupid in his journey and refuse to see what he has seen.The freed prisoner begins to tell the others about the things that he’s discovered and they grow angry at him. So infuriated that when the free man tries to unchain them they react very violently. This can be symbolized as fear, the other prisoners have believed that one thing was right their entire lives they are afraid to find out they are wrong. This also can be described as ignorance, the prisoners denied any knowledge that wasn’t given by them about the outside world from the freed prisoner.
In conclusion, the cave has been symbolized as much more than people inside of it, it relates to what people today believe. For example, many people today have one way of thinking and believing which is not the only option or solution. The cave represents a safe zone in which the prisoners inside the cave represent caged people who are afraid of the true reality.The allegory of the cave matters because it relates to how arrogant people can be to knowledge or a different way of thinking.