plato

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is a very interesting story that Socrates narrates to Glaucon. As simple as the story is, it has a very analytical philosophy that is vibrant throughout the story. I imagined there were a few men tied up at their feet and neck bound to a wall that prevent them from looking back. The prisoners have been in the cave since birth and never been outside the cave. The only view they have is a wall display of shadow images. Behind them is stairs leading to the surface; the real world. There is also a massive flame and a raised bridge that puppeteer stand on to display metaphysical carvings of reality, to create shadow projections for the prisoners to see.

The shadow symbolizes the limited epistemology of the prisoners. The innate human knowledge the prisoners have during birth is that they are in a cave with each other by their sides, not knowing the difference between what is real and what is fake. They determine that through acquired knowledge. The key fact we have to remember is that these prisoners been in the cave since birth, there empirical knowledge is everything they see in the shadows. If the puppeteers in the background speaks amongst themselves the prisoners would assume that it is the shadows that are speaking. If you have never seen real objects before or hear how it sound you would assume what you see and what you hear is coming from the shadows. These are the empirical knowledge that is installed in the minds of the prisoners. The shadow are just a perception of reality. The philosophy Plato is trying to tell us through the symbolism of shadows is that we believe what we are thought to believe as a child. We take that knowledge to adulthood until we experience what the truth is for ourselv...

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...ntry. Going to school in America, I am connecting and experiencing different cultures and appreciating the values we share. Just like the freed prisoner discovering the sun, I was discovering that diversity is the way of life. I loved diversity, seeing beautiful people from all over the world, trying cultural foods from different parts of the world; everything about diversity made me excited. I even had girlfriends from Italy and South Korea. When I went back to Bangladesh and told them about my journey in America and the cross-cultural experience, they were laughing and making nationalistic remarks and criticizing my friends from other nations using primitive stereotypes. Like the returning prisoner, I too was ignored from enlightening others. I can relate to Plato’s “Allegory of The Cave”, this is why I find it to be extremely persuasive in defining philosophy.