In my opinion, the author Plato described
In my opinion, the author Plato described
Plato’s philosophical beliefs by the Allegory of the Cave represents how people view the world by what they see and hear and that we are blinded because of it. The cave itself represents how we are all trapped from the real knowledge that we are too blinded to see. The shadows in the cave are supposed to be what we think is true and that they’re really just shadows of the truth. The prisoner leaving the cave represents the people who actually try to go out and seek knowledge and the sun is representing the truth in life. The prisoner returning to the cave represents how most people are too scared to except the philosophical truth and are actually scared of…
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.…
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…
Plato grew up in the aftermath of a war, and because of this much of his work is cynical, yet the cave does leave the door open for hope. While the pride of the perpetual prisoners is too excessive to think that the world they live in is a false one, there is hope of getting out of the cave, and that…
In Michael Ramsey’s video depicting Plato’s Allegory of the Cave men are held captive in a cave since childhood. The only reality they knew was demonstrated before them as the shadows of civilians as they passed by them. All seemed normal in their world until one of the prisoners was set free and taken out of the cave. Once his eyes became adjusted, he was able to accept the new reality portrayed all around him. I had a similar experience when I transitioned from high school to college. In high school my reality was based on the security, structure, and guidance provided by exterior influences, college has helped me to change my perception of reality.…
In Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave, a dialogue between two men, Socrates and Glaucon, reveals that our senses are not completely reliable. Socrates tells the story of a prisoner who has been chained for his whole life, able to see only shadows cast on a wall. The prisoner believed that the shadows were reality, but when he is released and dragged out of the cave, he finds a more important, more authentic reality. Socrates arrives to the conclusion that our senses are limited, just like the prisoner’s were, and that in order to come closer to the truth, we need to enter the world of intellect.…
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…
Republic evaluates the concept of justice and engages the reader in thinking about the true meaning of justice as the characters within the book dispute the matter. Plato also devises a society that is perfectly just. This utopia created also develops an education system where everyone will have the opportunity to receive the same education. Even women, Plato suggests, can be incorporated into the education system and be equal to men in society. This is why I believe Republic to be one of the most important texts. It addresses many issues that during this time were considered dangerous. Another important aspect of this texts is the allegory of the cave. I particularly enjoyed learning about this allegory because on many levels it holds true. Through education, exposure, and experience we can become not only self-aware, but also aware of how nature and society function. It also addresses the treatment of those who remain ignorant and how to be a moral and just…
6. "It is the responsibility of the writer to expose our many grievous faults and failures and to hold up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams, for the purpose of improvement." -- John Steinbeck…
Plato. “The Allegory of the Cave.” 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Samuel Cohen. Boston: Bedford/…
The Allegory of the Cave by Plato questions truth, reality, and demonstrates how we are similar to the prisoners within the cave. Every person has a personal “cave” and only with knowledge and understanding can we escape from the captivity ignorance.…
Because I love Socrates I find everything Plato writes thoroughly interesting. The minute he opened this part of The Republic with “how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened,” I was interested. The part in the Allegory of the cave that stood out to me was the transformation of the man from the shadows to the sun then back again. It is here that everything seemed to fall in place. The people in the shadows seemed, t me, to have an erroneous conscious, simply because they were living in the shadows. The shadows represented the gist of reality. It was the appearance of an object but not the depth of it. The shadows seemed like a false reality, there to see but unable to be grasped in any way. When the ,an went from the shadows to the sun he refused to believe there was such a thing other than what he had learned from the cave, therefore the sun would represent what reality actually is. The prisoner of the cave was unable to accept reality when he was first introduced to it because for all of his life he had only been able to reach the shadows of reality, not the full thing and he believed he had learned all that there was of reality so he refused to believe there was anything else to say about the manner. The transition from the fake world to true reality took him a while but after one begins to live in reality when he is sent back nothing else will ever make sense. The sun, reality, was able to change a man’s mind, one who had been in the dark for his entire life, but…
Not having any knowledge in this century gets somebody nowhere. However, gaining knowledge for some could be easy or difficult depending on their desire. Plato is well known Greek philosopher and writer. In the book, “The Republic: Book Vll” Plato and Socrates discuss about what would happen if people were prisoned in a cave chained their whole life and how a prisoner would act once outside the cave then force back in. Plato believes without having any education, one will be blinded to the truth.…
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…
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is the factual perception on what human’s ignorant minds accept whatever they perceive without envisioning the reality. His use of “dark” imagery illustrates how a person is trapped and isolated in his own “cave” and conceives everything without visually seeing the “light” outside the cave. He conveys the idea that the “prisoners” are stuck and “chained” in their own reality because they were only shown one perspective from “childhood”. Plato wisely suggests the idea of using our senses and how we individually depend on them to find the truth outside of our “cave”. Morality being that the prisoners can remain in the cave, scared of knowing the truth.…