The Cave Plato

777 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of plato's allegory of the cave

In Plato’s dialogue the “allegory of the cave” the student Glaucon asks Socrates why so many people are unenlightened. The figure that Socrates uses to illustrate is a den that chained human beings have lived in since their childhood, and can only see what is before them being prevented by the chains from turning their heads (¶ 1). Above and behind them is a fire blazing at distance; between them are a raised way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets (¶ 1). In order to understand Plato’s idea of the Good, it is helpful to examine the cave from three separate viewpoints: 1) the plight of the “strange prisoners”; 2) the difficulty of the ascent/the situation of the “liberated prisoner”; …show more content…

The figure that Socrates uses to illustrate is a den that chained human beings have lived in since their childhood, and can only see what is before them being prevented by the chains from turning their heads. Above and behind them is a fire blazing at distance; between them is a raised way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets (¶ 1). Since the prisoners are chained and can only see the opposite side of the cave, all that they see are the “shadows and figures of themselves or one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave,” and lead them to believe that those shadows were the “literal” truth (¶5). The prison is the world of sight and the light of the fire is the sun; if one interprets the journey upward to be the accent of the soul into the intellectual world according to Socrates’ poor belief then one will not misapprehend the meaning (¶ …show more content…

In conclusion, Socrates 's (and Plato 's) point is that, once we understand what reality is, it is the job of the informed to lead the ignorant 'out of the cave ' and into true knowledge. This means, of course, that those who still are uninformed will resist since, after all, the cave is all they 've ever known. But, this doesn 't change the obligation of the enlightened philosopher to try (and keep trying) to help his fellow

Show More
Related

  • Plato's Allegory Of Cave: Discoveries And The Mind

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    Plato was a distinguished man known for its highly intellectual theory concerning human’s perception. This particular reading emphasizes the point that what we recognize as real from birth is completely misleading based on our tainted understanding of reality, and that what we see and hear don’t necessarily ensure the truth and the actual knowledge. Even though Plato’s “Allegory of Cave” was written a long time ago, we can still relate it with the society today. For instance, we, the people, are the prisoners, and the shadow, is none other than the television and media, whose role has made such a huge impact in how we perceive things in life. The modern day television relates to the thought provoking, excellent, and captivating theory of Plato in its controlled audience, the misleading reality, and the enslaved addiction.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ rotates around the notion of our vision as humans being limited, and only being exposed to a certain extent of knowledge within our surroundings. The Allegory of the Cave presented a rare case where prisoners were trapped in a cave for all their lives with hands, neck and feet bound to look at a wall with shadows beings casted by a fire that lies behind them. Once a prisoner breaks free of the binds, his curiosity allows him to follow the light that then exposes him to the real world where he is blinded by the sun. Each of the elements in the allegory are symbols that can be related to modern day situations as metaphors. Though society has evolved drastically, many struggles that we face today resemble the allegory.

    Read More

  • Plato's Allegory Of The Cave Analysis

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    The irrational concept of the education has been influenced moral principles concerning what is good for a society as well as for an individual; however, the understanding of the intrinsic nature of the education removes the darkness of beliefs, which Plato calls prisoners’ shadows in his writing The Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, a dialogue between Glaucon and Socrates. Although “The Plato’s Allegory of the Cave” was written thousands of years ago, Plato’s depiction of the true education is a wakeup call for our humanity to admit the acquisition of knowledge with circumspection. The truth often relies on a mistaking understanding of sight or shadow according to Plato; the truth regularly relies on prejudice which makes an individual a prisoner, and the discovery of new truth often encounters hostility. A close analysis of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave allows us to view the education as not a way to transfer knowledge, but a way to transform

    Read More

  • Plato and Bacon

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    The "Allegory of the Cave" represents a complex model on that we tend to are to travel through our lives and understanding. The four stages of thought combined with the progress of human development represent our own path to complete awareness during which the most virtuous and distinguished can reach, and upon doing so shall lead the general public. The story as told by Socrates and Glaucon presents a unique look at the manner during which reality plays such a crucial half in our own existence, and the way one understands it may be used as a qualification for leadership and government.

    Read More

  • Movie Review: The Matrix And Plato's Allegory

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Plato’s Cave allegory is about prisoners that are chained in a cave since birth, that believe life in one state of reality. This was forced upon them. They cannot turn to see anything behind them because their necks were chained. The only thing they can see is the wall in the cave. Behind them was a burning fire. In between the fire and the prisoners was a parapet. The puppeteers hold up objects that cause shadows on the only wall the prisoners can see. They believe the shadows are reality. They would talk about the shadows as if they were the real objects. A prisoner was taken from what he believes is his home, his chains, and dragged outside as he was kicking and screaming, and blinded by the sun’s

    Read More

  • Enegory Of The Cave Essay

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine a group of people, prisoners, who had been chained to stare at a wall in a cave for all of their lives. Facing that wall, these prisoners can pass the time by merely watching the shadows casted from a fire they could not see behind them dance on the walls. These shadows became the closest to what view of reality the prisoners have. But what happens after one of these prisoners is unbound from his chains to inspect beyond the wall of shadows, to the fire and outside the cave? How would seeing the world outside of the walls of the cave affect his views of the shadows and reality? It is this theme with its questions that make up Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. It is in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave that there are several key ideas presented in the allegory. The ideas presented in the allegory can be related back to themes of education and the gaining of knowledge and in ways that can relate back to “us”, the people.

    Read More

  • Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    1521 Words  | 4 Pages

    Freedom in mind, freedom in nature, and freedom in subjectivity of individual are three kinds of freedoms. However, freedom should be expressed within the limits of reason and morality. Having freedom equals having the power to think, to speak, and to act without externally imposed restrains. As a matter of fact, finding freedom in order to live free is the common idea in Plato with "The Allegory of the Cave"; Henry David Thoreau with " Where I lived and What I lived for"; and Jean Paul Sartre with " Existentialism". Generally, Plato, Thoreau, and Sartre suggested that human life should be free. They differ in what that freedom is. Plato thinks it is found in the world of intellect, Thoreau thinks freedom is found in nature, and Sartre thinks freedom is found in subjectivity of individual.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Plato's The Cave

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is reality? An enduring question, philosophers have struggled to identify its definition and basic concept since the beginning of time. Plato, in his provocative essay, The Cave, used symbols and images to ridicule and explain how humanity easily justifies their current reality while showing us that true wisdom and enlightenment lies outside this fabricated version of reality. If he were alive in modern times, he would find society unchanged; still uneducated and silently trapped in our own hallucination of reality with only the glimmer of educational paths available. While this may be a bleak comparison, it is an accurate one as the media influences of today present a contrasting picture of education and ignorance that keeps us trapped

    Read More

  • Reality Check

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Allegory of the Cave” confronts a view of modern constraints from people’s everyday lives. Plato describes how all the prisoners are chained by the legs and head forced to stare at the cave wall where they watch casting shadows and hear noises in which they believe “the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (Plato p2). The shackles can portray limitations coming from today’s daily life. There are so many regulations and rules that we are given through the government that we really cannot control our own lives. The majority of the human race seems to believe that the government always makes the best decisions for the country. Other limitations from the shackles include money troubles, sicknesses, and the lack of food for the family. Another quality exposed is the sunlight representing the truth. As a prisoner “turns his neck around and walks and looks towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the gla...

    Read More

  • The True Reality In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Plato’s Allegory of The Cave Socrates explains that humans tend to not understand the true reality of their world. They believe that they understand what they are perceiving and sensing in the world, but in reality, they are just seeing the shadows of the true forms that make up the world. Socrates utilizes anecdotes to explain his theory on forms. The inclusion of a story to back up his theory helps the audience understand his points better, and generate more followers to his thinking. Additionally, Socrates uses examples of how his philosophies relate to our everyday life in order to provide more evidence to the reader. Although a counter claim isn’t explicitly stated in the Allegory, the reader could argue that for Plato’s program to

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave by Plato

    5691 Words  | 12 Pages

    The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. He sees it as what happens when someone is educated to the level of philosopher. He contends that they must "go back into the cave" or return to the everyday world of politics, greed and power struggles. The Allegory also attacks people who rely upon or are slaves to their senses. The chains that bind the prisoners are the senses. The fun of the allegory is to try to put all the details of the cave into your interpretation. In other words, what are the models the guards carry? the fire? the struggle out of the cave? the sunlight? the shadows on the cave wall? Socrates, in Book VII of The Republic, just after the allegory told us that the cave was our world and the fire was our sun. He said the path of the prisoner was our soul's ascent to knowledge or enlightenment. He equated our world of sight with the intellect's world of opinion. Both were at the bottom of the ladder of knowledge. Our world of sight allows us to "see" things that are not real, such as parallel lines and perfect circles. He calls this higher understanding the world "abstract Reality" or the Intelligeble world. He equates this abstract reality with the knowledge that comes from reasoning and finally understanding. On the physical side, our world of sight, the stages of growth are first recognition of images (the shadows on the cave wall) then the recognition of objects (the models the guards carry) To understand abstract reality requires the understanding of mathematics and finally the forms or the Ideals of all things (the world outside the cave). But our understanding of the physical world is mirrored in our minds by our ways of thinking. First comes imagination (Socrates thought little of creativity), then our unfounded but real beliefs. Opinion gives way to knowledge through reasoning (learned though mathematics). Finally, the realization of the forms is mirrored by the level of Understanding in the Ways of Thinking. The key to the struggle for knowledge is the reasoning skills acquired through mathematics as they are applied to understanding ourselves. The shadows on the cave wall change continually and are of little worth, but the reality out side the cave never changes and that makes it important.

    Read More

  • Plato's Cave

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    The basic premise of Plato's allegory of the cave is to depict the nature of the human being, where true reality is hidden, false images and information are perceived as reality. In the allegory Plato tells a story about a man put on a Gnostics path. Prisoners seating in a cave with their legs and necks chained down since childhood, in such way that they cannot move or see each other, only look into the shadows on the wall in front of them; not realizing they have three-dimensional bodies. These images are of men and animals, carried by an unseen men on the background. Now imagine one of the prisoners is liberated into the light, the Gnostic path will become painful and difficult, but slowly his eyes will begin to accommodate what he sees and his fundamentalist view about the world will begin to change; he sees everything through an anarchic thinking and reasons. When he returns into the cave, his fellow prisoners will not recognize him or understand anything he says because he has develop a new senses and capability of perception. This is the representation of the human nature, we live in a cave with false perception of reality that we've been told since childhood, but we must realize that these present perception are incomplete.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Sigmund Freud's The Allegory Of The Cave

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Allegory of the Cave” is a dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon. Socrates refers to how men are easily manipulated to believe that being chained inside a cave is the correct way of living. Socrates says that humans can be made to “have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, beings prevented by the chains from turning round their heads” (Plato 450). Socrates argues that men can be chained and kept in this isolation without questioning the cave. According to this human beings can be brainwashed to believe into any ideal. Socrates continues presenting questions of the man that finally discovers the outside world. This man finally sees the light but it

    Read More

  • Allegory Of The Cave Essay

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    In book seven of ‘The Republic’, Plato presents possibly one of the most prominent metaphors in Western philosophy to date titled ‘Allegory of the Cave’.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    Liberal education is not something that is not defined easily. There are various different aspects of liberal education that make it what it is. Part of the liberal education classes that Grand Valley offers work to help students understand and define liberal education better. Not only that, but liberal education helps make students what they are today. Through out the various readings, exercises, and various forms of expression, our liberal education class has helped shape the idea of liberal education and how we, and a university can use it to better enhance our experiences in our daily lives.

    Read More

More about The Cave Plato

Open Document