The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ in Different Perspectives
¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ in Different Perspectives
¡§The Allegory of the Cave,¡¨ written by Plato, is an interpretation of a conversation between Socrates, Plato¡¦s mentor, and Glaucon, one of Socrates students. ¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ can be interpreted several different ways.
Imagine men in a cave chained up by their necks and legs, forcing them to only look forward at a wall. An opening behind them lets the light in. Above the burning fire and chains, there is a road. Have these chained men ever seen anything else of themselves or others beyond the cave¡¦s shadows made by the fire? Some people would say the truth is only perceived by the shadows seen on the walls of the cave. What if one of these men¡¦s chains were taken off and he was free to leave? Would the man feel pain when seeing the real world?
Would he be confused on believing what is real? Would it make a difference if the chained man was briefly educated about what he was going to see first?
Perhaps he would understand and not be confused about what is real. Will the man think what he saw before was much more real than what he sees now?
Questions like these will bring different opinions and meaning to ¡§The Allegory of the Cave.¡¨ Whose interpretation, if any, is correct when explaining the meaning of ¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨? Does it have mathematical meaning, explain a vision of the whole world, or is it just a comparison to the field of social work? I personally feel that ¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ is a great explanation of how people in the world live. People are just like the men chained inside the cave, people only know and believe what he or she might have seen. Outside of the cave is the world around us. People are very narrow minded beings, a persons perception on life is only from their own experiences. When the chained men are let free is when people finally realize what is going on in the world and not just what is around
¡§The Allegory of the Cave,¡¨ written by Plato, is an interpretation of a conversation between Socrates, Plato¡¦s mentor, and Glaucon, one of Socrates students. ¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ can be interpreted several different ways.
Imagine men in a cave chained up by their necks and legs, forcing them to only look forward at a wall. An opening behind them lets the light in. Above the burning fire and chains, there is a road. Have these chained men ever seen anything else of themselves or others beyond the cave¡¦s shadows made by the fire? Some people would say the truth is only perceived by the shadows seen on the walls of the cave. What if one of these men¡¦s chains were taken off and he was free to leave? Would the man feel pain when seeing the real world?
Would he be confused on believing what is real? Would it make a difference if the chained man was briefly educated about what he was going to see first?
Perhaps he would understand and not be confused about what is real. Will the man think what he saw before was much more real than what he sees now?
Questions like these will bring different opinions and meaning to ¡§The Allegory of the Cave.¡¨ Whose interpretation, if any, is correct when explaining the meaning of ¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨? Does it have mathematical meaning, explain a vision of the whole world, or is it just a comparison to the field of social work? I personally feel that ¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ is a great explanation of how people in the world live. People are just like the men chained inside the cave, people only know and believe what he or she might have seen. Outside of the cave is the world around us. People are very narrow minded beings, a persons perception on life is only from their own experiences. When the chained men are let free is when people finally realize what is going on in the world and not just what is around
Cited: Flores, Alfinio. ¡§The Shadows of Mathematics.¡¨ Arithmetic Teacher April 1993 Vol. 40 Issue 8 : 428. Gill, Jerry H.. ¡§Re-exploring Plato¡¦s Cave.¡¨ Philosophy Today Spring 1994 Vol. 38 Issue 1 : 98. O¡¦Leary, Michael. WWW.mv.com/lpusers/oleary/cave/. Reamer, Fredric G.. ¡§The Place of Empiricism in Social Work.¡¨ Journal of Social Work Fall 1992, Vol.28 Issue 3 : 257-60. Wertenbaker, Christian. ¡§Toward a Vision of the Whole.¡¨ Parabola Summer 1997 Vol. 22 Issue 2 : 54-62.