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The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato

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The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato
“Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation”. This quote by Rabindranath Tagore reveals some of my perspective on what is important to focus on when examining your beliefs of philosophy. As explained in the Allegory of the Cave by Plato, some of reality is merely shadows; in Plato’s perspective, this puppet show view is created by the materialistic world. An ideal ‘real world’ is made up of ideas, thoughts, feelings and other nonmaterial beliefs. Inside the cave, one is blinded and is only seeing reflections and shadows of the real world; this is how most humans live today.
Just as one is hesitant to go outside the cave in Plato’s allegory, people are scared to invest time into what their reality is, or to even wonder if their reality is indeed, reality. Asking the tough questions is like looking directly at the sun; enlightening perhaps, but also can be painful. Furthermore, if done for too long or too much, it can also be permanently harmful, damaging to one’s sight and perspective. In my mind, both materialism and idealism are vital to grasping true reality, and the most important of these things in life is love. Love is something to hold onto as one explores their beliefs; it is something to ground
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I know that the puppets and shadows of the reality I’m living right now is not all there is to life, but yet am living this life to help others find truth as well. To leave the cave for me, is equivalent to death, but also is equivalent to my entrance to eternal life. Even though I see myself as having solidified much of my faith, that does not mean I will stop trying to turn my head to see the real things, or stop trying to escape the chains of a world that have imprisoned me in my imperfect

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