Allegory Of The Cave

I had an experience that each represents the symbol towards the Allegory of the Cave. My childhood was mostly in Jamaica where I lived with my father for two to three years. I can relate to the symbols from the "Allegory of the Cave".

An allegory is a kind of story in which writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface story. One of the most important allegories ever to be gifted to humankind is Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is one of the most potent and pregnant of allegories that describe human condition in both its fallen and risen states. The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. It is also known as the Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave. It is written as a fictional dialogue between Plato's teacher Socrates and Plato's brother Glaucon at the beginning of Book VII of The Republic.

The Allegory of the Cave means that, people do not see things as they really are. That mankind assumes concepts but they do not have the full picture; One reason is because we only have five senses. For example, in Allegory of the Cave, Socrates explains that the chained men see the shadows and assume that they are being cast from the real item. However the shadows did not come from the real things they were just illusions and models. It also means that as humans, we tend to believe what is in front of us and not dig deeper to make sure we are correct.

Has someone ever looked at you and immediately disregard you for you are just because of your ethnicity? Have you ever done it someone? Racism is a huge culture issue that we have not only in America, but in other parts of the world, but it does not matter the color of one’s. What really matters is the character they have withheld inside but are not given a chance to express because someone didn’t even bother to give them a chance. This is idea comes from the book written by Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” where in the book Socrates speaks of man being in a dark cave all their lives not realizing the truth until once they reach the end of the cave to see that the light is the truth. The truth is the reality of life.

My first reaction to this reading was, "What in the world did I just read?". I honestly didn't comprehend anything that was said in this reading other than the fact that two men were having a very intense conversation. I'm honestly not used to reading older books or books that use older versions of the English language. I took me a few rereads to finally understand what the story was about. Furthermore, the story is indeed based on two men having a conversation but the conversation was based on how a man named Socrates starts questioning his friend about the workings of the world.

2395 years ago Plato said, “Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light” (The Allegory of the Cave). Ever since, whether it be 2023 years ago or 9 years ago, Plato’s wise words still ring true. Enter Iron Age Greece, the Trojan war has finally come to an end and the victorious are more than ready to return home to their families with fame and fortune. Ready to see his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, the meritorious warrior Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, sets out for Ithaca. Yet, his victorious adventure goes awry on his journey home and he must conquer 20 years of the gods’ wrath, vicious creatures, oddly hospitable hosts, and conniving suitors before he can finally have his peace. Flash forward and enter modern-day New York City, the home of Andrea “Andy” Sachs, Northwestern graduate, aspiring journalist, and a girl in much need of some fashion advice. Until, she gets a job at the most prestigious, couture magazine in New York, Runway. With the job comes Miranda Priestly, the Editor in Chief of Runway, and the creator of the impossible tasks and crazy requests, that require unwavering dedication from Andy. But, before she can achieve her dream, her life turns upside down and backwards, in the sinfully funny movie, The Devil Wears Prada. Although these two stories seem different, at the heart of both lies a

1.) "The Allegory of the Cave" - We often hear of various movements that are set out to try to protect our freedoms. We spend most of lives trying to defend our rights and keep ourselves liberated. However, how truly free are we? "The Allegory of the Cave" a story of prisoners in a cave , chained facing upward, by the legs and necks. They cannot move but their eyes are faced straight ahead at a wall. This wall is their world. They see the shadows of people, some carrying objects and others not. These shadows are all they know. Eventually, a prisoner is released and upon his release he finds himself in both physical and mental pain. He is now able to move his muscles and put them into work, this includes his logos(mind).

In his allegory of the cave, Plato describes a scenario in which chained-up prisoners in a cave understand the reality of their world by observing the shadows on a cave wall. Unable to turn around, what seems to be reality are but cast shadows of puppets meant to deceive the prisoners. In the allegory, a prisoner is released from his chains and allowed to leave the cave. On his way out, he sees the fire, he sees the puppets, and then he sees the sun. Blinded by the sunlight, he could only stare down to view the shadows cast onto the floor. He gradually looks up to see the reflections of objects and people in the water and then the objects and people themselves. Angered and aware of reality, the freed prisoner begins to understand illusion

Socrates is a Greek philosopher. He was a teacher that taught his students to think for themselves. Many of his students are well-known people like Plato, Aristotle and Alexander The Great. Socrates taught ethics which was moral principles of a person’s behavior or doing an activity. The “Allegory of the Cave” has a similar educational process which many of us endure over years.

How the Allegory Open our Mind Wisdom is (1) the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment, (2) the soundness of an action or decision of regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment, and (3) the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period. The Allegory of the Cave is wise because it helps us open our mind. One of the first thing that The Allegory of the Cave helps us open our mind is that it gives us an image of ourselves. We are like the prisoners living in the cave built by ourselves.

In Books V and VI of Plato’s Republic, Socrates claims that true philosophers are the best fit to rule as kings to the cities because of their political greatness and wisdom which stems from their knowledge of the intelligible realm. Through the allegory of the cave, Socrates enhances his argument that the people inside looking at the shadows are constrained within their own understanding in the perceptual and physical realm. In comparison, true philosophers have a greater sense of truth and understanding from their knowledge of the world outside the cave. Ultimately, true philosophers who have true knowledge, contrasting to the others who only have belief, are fit to rule because of their understanding of justice and intent to adequately

Aristotelian Analysis of “The Allegory of the Cave” In “The Allegory of the Cave”, Plato is demonstrating his theory about people’s mindset concerning old and new ideas through. He does this through the use of an Allegory, sound logic, and emotion. He tells the story of a prison in a cave, and how one of the prisoners escapes his bonds and is “compelled suddenly to stand up… and look towards the light” (Plato p. 451) .

The point that is being made in the Allegory of the cave, is the fact that many of us only see things from one perspective. The way we see things is not always the reality of what it is. We as humans tend to rely on each other’s opinions instead of seeing our own reality. I think Plato is calling out humans and telling us we need to see things for ourselves to see the reality of things, we shouldn’t always agree or see things the same way as everyone

The Allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave is actually a part of the Plato’s writings who is a Greek philosopher in his series of writings titled as “The Republic” (Plato, 514). The Republic was written in different parts and took different years to compile the writings together from years 514a to 520a. These series of books were written to highlight the psychology of the people individuals and how they act in different situations and era of life. It is written in the form of dialogue between Socrates and especially this writing “The Allegory of the Cave” is written in the dialogue form between Socrates and the brother of Plato named as Glaucon by Plato. Those series of Plato actually describes how the education in the lives of the people brings change.

This story, The parable of the cave, gives awesome inspiration to the investigation for education. By looking at Plato's Cave we can investigate the need of rationality and how it adds to an important education. An examination of Plato's depiction of the cavern, one of the prisoners gets out of the cave, and the he come back to the cave, gives us an outline of how our education works, to be liberated from the material world, the impact of any kind of custom, beliefs, and to find out oneself and the world in a more liberated and meaningful way.