The Symbolism In The Allegory Of The Cave

What Plato is trying to teach with The Allegory of the cave is that things that we learn through the senses are not always the truth and people are too close-minded to try to see things in a different light. In Plato’s theory the cave represents that people believe that only things you can see or hear are true or real. The cave shows how these people are trapped in there misunderstanding of reality. The Shadows represent the mistruths presented as reality in the world. The game represents that people can measure their intelligence based on their understanding of misinformation and that the people who do so truly know nothing of reality. The escape of the prisoner represents the quest for truth and knowledge beyond the senses and the journey of the soul that is experienced through revelations or stepping from “the darkness” into “the light”. The return represents the want of people who gain knowledge to share it with those who don’t have it and need it, and the shock from those who may not
I can give some real life examples of some of these. The shadows, for example, are similar to when politicians bend the truth to convince you to believe what they believe or what they want you to believe. The fire in the cave that casted the shadows is similar to the media giving politicians the platform to be able to cast these “shadows”. The cave itself represents the world of people who accept information provided to them as the truth instead of trying to find out on their own. Living life this way is like living in a “dark cave” and that seeking truth on your own is an empowering and liberating experience referred to as “stepping into the light”. I find the symbolism in The Allegory of the Cave to be relevant and true more today than ever before. New technology such as the internet has given people the ability to share knowledge farther and faster than ever before, but this includes false