Preview

Understanding Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
299 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Understanding Plato's Allegory Of The Cave
The Allegory of the Cave is very important to understanding Plato. The allegory says we all live in a cave and all we can see are the shadows of reality on the cave wall. The shadows are based on reality but they are very distorted. If we rely on our own experience to understand things we will never get beyond these distorted shadows.

We need a guide to take us out of the cave and into the sunlight where we can see reality as it truly is. But as we leave the cave the daylight blinds us so we need our guide to continue to help us. That guide is the philosopher.

Getting out the cave is a long process. We may think we are out but really, we are just in a larger and better lit cave and still confused by distortions. When we truly understand

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gold Penny

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The purpose of this lab is to convert a regular penny into a “gold” penny.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Plato's Republic we have one of the best allegories told, the allegory of the Cave. The allegory of the cave goes basically like this:…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave” (Plato) is a metaphor that shows how we believe reality. What it is showing is that the things we perceive are imperfect reflections of forms that only represent reality. In the Allegory, Plato uses a cave where prisoners are chained down and forced to look at the wall. Plato shows that the prisoners do not actually know what reality is. The readers understand that the puppeteers behind the prisoners are using objects to create shadows to real things and people, but the prisoners are unable to turn their heads, so they don’t know anything…

    • 1830 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exist in the soul…

    • 1633 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato's Allegory of the Cave is meant to be a wake-up call for everyone to stop settling for an imperfect, unexplored life full of ignorance. Since Plato believed that human beings could eventually free themselves and head upwards to the real world by leading a life of philosophical…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is Plato talking to Socrates and Glaucon about the idea of human being. Plato, being a philosopher, wondered about a lot of things. He, of course, had meant to put meanings behind the dialogues that he writes down, Allegory of the Cave being one. The central idea of it is that he believes humans are creatures that only wander around in places that they know, and whenever they leave the cave, they see a whole new world. Throughout the entire text, he develops the idea with lots of analogies and hidden meanings.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Allegory of the Cave is a metaphor that can be seen to describe many aspects and situations in life that one had no control or choice over. The reason Plato uses many metaphors in his allegory is to think or ‘philosophize’ about the world around us because in fact our understanding of the world is very limited. This is due to the fact that we live in a world of shadows and not reality to whom very little is actually known about by everyone. The metaphors are seen to actually represent a society with all its people, truths, hidden meanings, problems, solutions etc… The meanings transferred in the allegory of the cave apply to philosophy because it shows the philosophers position in society. It gives the philosopher the opportunity to philosophize/think about what exists/reality and what does not exist in our surrounding environment. To society, the allegory of the cave contemplates many issues related to man in his society. Such issues include human’s ability to be ignorant or knowledgeable, free or imprisoned, stubborn, lazy, active, etc… by choosing either to or not to search for answers to many of the issues that arise continuously. Moreover, The Allegory of the Cave is about ignorance and learning because the men in the cave are ignorant or unaware of the outside world that exists except for the shadows that they saw passing by on the walls. The man who is freed engages in the process of learning from the moment he is released from the cave and is forced to adapt to the new conditions and situations that now surround him. In addition, the chains are used to symbolize the limited amount of information that a person has about reality. For whatever reason, this limited amount of information can be considered to be a type of ignorance. Last but not least, as humans in this world, many of us are really ignorant…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is it true that from the first day you were born until the day you die you are surrounded by false shadows-false shadows that are made by our peers in order to keep us from making our own decisions and realizations? According to “The Myth of the Cave” written by Plato, that is exactly how the world works. From my standing point I couldn’t agree more. Our society is constantly being manipulated. Whether it’s by false advertisements or somebody else’s behavior, society is constantly controlling the way we think.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the words of Mitch Albom, “Some parents smudge, others crack, and a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces beyond repair.” In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, he examines the extent to which parents can create conflict in a child’s life. Willy’s affair, misguided upbringing of his children, and delusions create a strained relationship with Biff.…

    • 1380 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of the Cave

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind his allegory is the basic tenets that all we perceive are imperfect "reflections" of the ultimate Forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. The purpose of this allegory defines clearly the process of enlightenment. For a man to be enlightened, he must above all desire the freedom to explore and express himself. Plato's main concept of the cave is: people see reality as the visible world when reality really is more than the visible world.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays