The Allegory Of The Cave

Plato proposes in his philosophy The Allegory of the Cave that most people are bound to their obliviousness and materialism, either by willful rejection or ignorance, which in turn makes them metaphorically blind to the true nature of reality. For instance, the people chained within the dark cave is a symbol for the world we currently reside in (or was resided in), and the chains represent each one of us, who are either knowingly or unknowingly chained to the material world. The shadows the cave dwellers saw is a metaphor for both perception and illusion. For example, what one person perceives as reality and the truth (e.g. the shadows in the cave), is nothing but a mere illusion, even though they perceive it to be the truest reality.

Essentially,
the cave itself can be a representation of the house of the soul. Except in this instance, instead of our typical human bodies, it is represented by a dark cave. I feel that Plato was allegorically saying that most people are spiritually “in the dark”, so to speak. So, when the cave dweller broke free from his chains and ventured out into the outside world, he broke free of the chains that bounded him to his old perceptions and beliefs. Essentially, he gained a higher knowledge of the truth, and broke free of the conventional beliefs, limitations, and perceptions that bound most people to this material world. So, when the man returned from his expedition, eager to share what he had seen, he was met with hostility from the other cave dwellers. Why is this? Well, they were still blind and bound to their perceptions and beliefs, and were angered by having anyone altering what they perceived as “reality”. So, as the old saying goes - Ignorance is bliss.

In conclusion, The Allegory of the Cave is a philosophical take on how us humans are blinded by what we hold as truth, knowledge, and perception, and that stepping away from the things that bind us to this world (e.g.
materialism, etc.) is enlightening and illuminating, like when the man exited the cave and was met with a blindingly bright sun, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for gaining a higher knowledge of the truth, as well as possibly attaining a higher spiritual knowledge that most of us do not acknowledge or comprehend. This allegory, even though it was written a very long time ago, holds a lot of truth, even in today’s modern society. One example about how this allegory relates to our modern world is that, we too are bound to what we hold as the “truth”. For instance, modern political views are extreme on both ends, and there is no compromise from either party. These people find no common ground, and hold their viewpoints and beliefs with an iron fist, refusing to see, or even hear, political views that conflict with what they believe, just like the people dwelling in the cave. Another instance of how this allegory pertains to our modern world is our fixation on the material world. Although, it is a necessity to have this fixation, it does not take away from that fact that each one of us fixates on getting the nicest house, car, clothes, status, and so on, even though these things are allegorical “shadows”. Nevertheless, Plato’s allegory is a very interesting one, and it still shines a light about past and current human behavior and
society.