Preview

The Allegory Of Plato's Cave

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
370 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Allegory Of Plato's Cave
The allegory of the cave was a vision that Plato described to Socrates about prisoners chained facing a wall of a cave so that they could not move. Chained there for their entire lives they could not see themselves or each other all they could see was the cave wall and shadows.
Fire burned above their heads and behind them. Between the fire and the prisoners a wall lined path where people walk and carry vases, statues, and other artifacts on their heads. The prisoners could hear echoes of voices and could see the shadows casted by the artifacts, they mistaken the echoes and shadows for reality. Plato has Socrates imagine that one prisoner is unchained and forced to see what has been behind him his entire life. The fire then hurts his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    attached to chains in a cave from Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” they were so busy looking at…

    • 799 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Plato's Republic we have one of the best allegories told, the allegory of the Cave. The allegory of the cave goes basically like this:…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Republic, the Philosopher King becomes compelled to tell his citizens medicinal lies. When the citizens do not understand something, like medicinal things, the philosopher king becomes able to tell them almost anything and they will believe everything he says, and exalt him. He is compelled to do this to ease their minds, since they would not understand anyway, he figures it is just easier to not tell them. The Philosopher King also seems to understand more than what the citizens understand. But it isn’t his nature that sets him apart from citizens like him, it is his wisdom, virtue, and knowledge that lifts him higher than everyone else, and allows his to “understand” things that the regular citizens would not. This suits him because he is so wise, he understands why the citizens do not understand what he understands, or knows.…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Plato's Allegory of the Cave there were multiple beliefs brought upon by the prisoners of this cave. The prisoners of the cave are supposed to parallel everyday people in the sense of how reality is perceived. The prisoners of the cave believed and only knew that reality of the shadows and developed their own belief structure and way of processing that information. Plato connected that to everyday people due to the fact that although we strongly believe the reality we have made for ourselves, there can be more that we have never been exposed to. For example, when one of the prisoners were unchained and brought out of the cave into the world, he was overwhelmed and wanted to tell the other prisoners. Due to the fact that other prisoners could…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Initially, I would say that Plato’s Allegory of the Cave doesn’t tell us anything about reality, and by doing so I would have to agree with the statement. My reasoning for this is straightforward and simple, Plato implies that the senses are completely useless, and by doing so he also implies that empiricist ways are also useless for they rely solely upon the senses. This shows to us that the Plato’s allegory cannot tell us anything about reality as we have survived for millions of years by using empiricist techniques, or more specifically the senses. It would simply be impossible for us to live without them. These senses are sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, and Plato claims that in order to understand reality we mustn’t use them, instead relying on rationalist techniques like logic and reason, this, in some circumstances couldn’t tell us a thing about reality. An example of this would be that we cannot gain all of our knowledge through thinking alone. For example, I could think of a fruit like an apple or banana and I could think of what it would possibly taste like, however, you wouldn’t be able to imagine the taste, this simply isn’t possible. We couldn’t just think that bananas or apples taste delicious because we don’t actually know how they would taste without actually eating it, and if we were to do this we would have to rely on the sense of taste, an empiricist sense, this clearly shows how the Analogy of the Cave cannot possibly tell us anything about reality as humanity relies on empiricism for the most basic of tasks as my example above clearly shows.…

    • 591 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Cave is a famous analogy/allegory written by Plato which he uses to explain some parts of his theory of Forms. Within the analogy many of the key factors are symbolic of a situation that people can more easily understand and interpret themselves. The actual cave represents the world we perceive, the empirical world and the world of sensory perception. It acts as a barrier to the truth because our perceptions may be flawed. The prisoners chained so all they can do is looking in front represent us. We are trapped in the physical world of illusion with our handcuffs being our flawed senses and experiences. The shadows caused by the…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    already;” (Plato 4). Spoken by Socrates in reference to the philosophy of life, this quote depicts the meaning of broadening our horizons in order to gain knowledge and escape the shackles that confine us in the form of deceit. This quote is portrayed in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” as the prisoners detained in the cave are deluded by their perception of reality, and the prisoner that escapes loses that distorted world and becomes enlightened. The cave is a representation of the hidden lies in which the prisoners are provided at the premises of their knowledge and are restrained from the truth to remain ignorant. Ultimately, one of the prisoners discovers that the world in…

    • 1633 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of the Cave is a dialog between Socrates and Gloucon in The Republic written by Plato. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Socrates depicts a long, dark cave with a small opening that allows a small amount of light to enter. Inside the cave there group of prisoners, who have been in the cave for their entire lives. The prisoners legs and necks are chained to the cave floor so they are unable to move and can only look forward at the cave wall. At the back of the cave there is a fire that they are never able to view. In between the prisoners and the fire there is a low wall with a path behind it, along which people carry pictures, puppets, and statues. These pictures, puppets and statues are all the prisoners are able to see, and the echoes of the puppeteers when they speak are all they are able to hear. Although the prisoners are chained they are still content because all they have ever known are the shadows. None of them have ever seen anything beyond the cave and have no desire to do so. However one prisoner wakes up to find that he is no longer chained to the floor, and is able to leave the cave. Once the prisoner is outside he realizes that the shadows are not real. The prisoner then decides to return to the cave, to free the other prisoners, however reentering the cave would make his eyes have to…

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    prisoners. One day, a prisoner is released from the cave but is blinded by the light…

    • 1279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The great philosopher, Plato, back in the days of the ancient Greek civilization, concluded that man as a species can only draw from what his senses take about his surroundings. This includes his social relationships, eating habits, spiritual beliefs, and the many other attributes that make a person who they are. This theory/observation is very accurate about man back then and is also seen in everyday life even today. People are constantly leaving their imaginary caves in search of their inner-self and it begins in early childhood.…

    • 564 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Once one of the prisoners is presented with the truth and is allowed outside of the cave he sees the world for what it truly is. The prisoner is then hurried back down to the cave, chained once again and is forced to look at…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato, Allegory Cave

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The first stage of the excerpt, which is characterized by chained and confined people, is a metaphor representing the infant and child ages of humans. Like the confined people, children are not allowed to wander freely outside of their home and must stay close to their parent's watchful eye. Those living in the underground den have their heads positioned in a way that they must not view a fire blazing behind them. The heads of the people only see the shadows cast by the fire and objects passing by behind them and they can only guess as to the actual physicality of the object. This also is very similar to children who are curious about objects around them. Although children do not understand complex objects, they do want to know the purpose and function of the object. The mentalities of the people in the cave and of children are 100% subjective and are trapped in their own ignorance: "To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images."(5) Totally emerged in isolation and without experience, those in the den have no idea as to what the true nature of the shadow is. Their only truth is the shadow and they cannot learn the real meaning behind the shadow unless set free.…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of the Cave

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The cave represents the people who believe that knowledge comes from what we see and hear in the world.The prisoners represent an ignorant, unenlightened, and narrow society. This would comprise of those who have not yet understood the meaning of life.The prisoners are without sun, without a higher understanding, and have limited understanding.Those who are chained represent all human beings who have been forced to think in one particular way; The chains are symbolic of limitations that pull us away from the truth. These chains permit the prisoners only to see shadows replicated by a fire behind them. These chained prisoners are restricted to only what the fire allows them to see – their own perceptions. Because the prisoners cannot see what or who is behind them, they accept those shadows as reality.Their full understanding arises only when the shackles are unbound and can comprehend clearly. The cave shadows are ambiguous and unclear, distorted, without any true form. Plato successfully utilizes the shadows to demonstrate those who cannot see an accurate, clear reality. The prisoners are seeing the shadows as a reality of the visible world, yet their reality are flawed and not the true form. The shadows symbolize what we observe with our senses, and not with our mental understandings – they may well be misrepresentations but we are incapable of…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The allegory of the cave in Plato’s Republic is a metaphor meant to illustrate Plato’s views on knowledge but also strengthens his perception of the noble lie in society, an idea that is still very relevant today. It is designed to ask the fundamental question of: “What is the truth?” This is a clear reference Plato’s ideology that rests upon the sworn duty that Guardians make towards the state and it is hence emphasized by this analogy. The journey that one makes to be able to attain that superior state is full of hardships1(The Republic, 516, a) but it is meant to illustrate the route the Guardians take to attain the Philosopher-King status. It is what leads a man to enlightenment but also establishes a supreme duty for whoever discovers…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    COMPARING MOTH AND CAVE

    • 550 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Plato commences his story by describing the cave’s structure, the humans that are inside and the ambiance in which it takes place. He is very detailed as he describes his thoughts. You can picture the details as you read. “Behold! humans beings living in an underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads” (p. 657). Plato describes the cave with words that immediately intrigues the reader’s imagination. Plato speaks about chains and how long the humans have been inside the cave, I only see this as exactly how reads. I envision the humans having a clamp around their neck as it were a neck brace which restrains them from turning around.…

    • 550 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays