Allegory Of The Cave By Plato - 974 Words

Have you ever felt so trapped in a small space you began to lose your mind? In Plato’s short story, â€Å"Allegory of the Cave,† the author uses allegory as a means to justify that the world is a reflection of more perfect and ideal forms. As the story begins, Plato’s teacher, Socrates, presents a world of alternate reality to Plato’s brother Glaucon by telling him to imagine a cave full of prisoner’s who have been chained their entire lives. The shadows, voices, and figures given to them by the puppeteers on the wall have constructed the only reality the prisoners have ever known. Those few interpretations lead the prisoners to believe the shadows are real. To the prisoners, they must be real because that is all they have ever seen, heard, or known. The cave is used as a means to open peoples eyes to the world we live in and to not blindly walk through life living by the rules of our puppeteers. As children we are the prisoners hidden in the cave o r chained to the society defined by the media, government, educational systems, and many other constructs we do not even question. Our knowledge of reality, truth, and education will always be limited by our fears of puppeteers, new ideas, and radical perspectives unless we break free from what is holding us back. Just like the prisoners locked in their caves, we must seek enlightenment beyond the illusions instilled upon us. He explains the education of the soul toward enlightenment by examining the ideas of universal forms. TheShow MoreRelatedAllegory Of The Cave By Plato1722 Words   |  7 PagesAllegory of the Cave Human experiences are an everyday aspect of individuals lives. The way individuals see, touch, smell, feel, and even remember is through unique experiences. People do not realize it, but our everyday life and community shape how the mind experiences certain events. Because of these, the way individuals see the world is different from person to person. The mind interprets the world around the individuals, however, it can only interpret what it is exposed to. It is up to the individualsRead MoreThe Allegory Of The Cave By Plato1511 Words   |  7 PagesIn our class, we read three powerful and meaningful texts. We started by reading The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived from 428-347 B.C.E. This text led to our reading of The Four Idols by Francis Bacon, an English philosopher who came much later than Plato and lived from 1562 to 1626. Lastly, we read The Word Weavers/World Makers by Neil Postman, who lived from 1931-2003. There seems to be a recurring theme in which they themselves deal with ideas of knowledge and illusionsRead MoreAllegory of the Cave Plato6021 Words   |  25 Pagescomfortable with this unawareness because it is all we know. Platos Allegory of the Cave† captures the essence of the journey to enlightenment. Clearly, the thought of sameness and normality thinking has transcended from Platos time to today. Thus, the allegory is relevant to contemporary essential life. Organizations are known for fostering a culture of group thinking. The danger inherent in group thinking is the object lesson that Plato tries to convey. When we refuse to engage in critical thinkingRead MoreThe Allegory of the Cave by Plato916 Words   |  4 PagesThe â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† by Plato represents the differences in the way we perceive reality and what we believe is real. In his story, Plato starts by saying that in a cave, there are prisoners chained down and are forced to look at a wall. The prisoners are unable to turn their heads to see what is going on behind them and are completely bound to the floor. Behind the prisoners, puppeteers hide and cast shadows on the wall in line with the prisoners’ sight, thus giving the prisoners their onlyRead MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave1093 Words   |  4 PagesPlatos Cave begins by explaining the conditions of the people inside the cave. The people inside sit side by side. Their hands and legs are chained to the ground. They face a wall in the cave. The cave is illuminated by a fire behind the people. On the wall, there are projections of shadows created by the fire and objects that passes by fire. The prisoners dont know this, of course, because they are bound so tight that they cant turn their heads. There are people that are carrying objects to createRead MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave.1145 Words   |  5 PagesIn Plato s The Allegory of the Cave, Socrates tells an allegory of the hardship of understanding reality. Using metaphors Socrates comp ares a prisoner in an underground cave who is exploring a new strange world he never knew of to people who are trying to find a position of knowledge in reality. Through it, Plato attempts to map a man s journey through education and describes what is needed to achieve a perfect society. According to Socrates, most people tend to rely on their senses excessivelyRead MoreAllegory Of The Cave By Plato934 Words   |  4 Pagesour lives, every person has asked themselves a varied version of the same questions: What is â€Å"reality†, moreover what determines our perception of reality, and what am I supposed to do with (or about) it? Throughout â€Å"Allegory of the Cave,† Plato attempts to answer these questions. Plato suggests that humans have a constrained view of the world, and that reality consist of two different perceptions, a bodily eye† and a â€Å"mind’s eye.† The â€Å"mind’s eye†, the hypothetical site of visual recollection or Read MorePlato s Allegory Of The Cave1716 Words   |  7 PagesIn Plato’s, Allegory of the cave, a key theory I found was the importance of education. Plato uses an â€Å"allegory to illustrate the dilemma facing the psyche in the ascent to knowledge of the imperishable and unchanging forms† (104) Based on my research of the republic, the allegory can reveal multiple hidden messages. Plato describes, ordinary mortals are chained within an underground chamber, which according to Fiero, represents the psyche imprisoned within the human body. These mortals can’t lookRead MorePlato s Allegory Of Cave1979 Words   |  8 PagesJaneva Walters December 6, 2016 Dr. T. Brady ENG 391 Plato’s Allegory of Cave The allegory of the cave is regarded as one of the most reputed and acclaimed works by the Greek philosopher Plato in modern literature as well as philosophy. First published and presented in his work known as a Republic (514a–520a), the dialogues that have been used as conversation can be regarded as fictitious as the main conversation takes place between Plato’s brother Glaucon and Socrates. First and foremost, allegoricalRead MoreThe Allegory Of The Cave Proposed By Plato1595 Words   |  7 PagesThe allegory of the cave proposed by Plato includes the representation of the levels of knowledge. As we get closer to the exit, we get more knowledgeable and wiser we get, thus becoming better selves. Literature represents part of this knowledge, it has been a fundamental part of understanding our society, and has archived and developed the events and thoughts that made the world in which we live today. The more we read, the more we understand about us as well as learning from other peoples’ experiences