Allegory Of The Cave Watching The Shadows Analysis

In the Allegory of the Cave there are chained prisoners in cave who can only stare at the cave wall in front of them. At the back there is a long entrance with a staircase the width of the cave and a fire burning in the distance. They see only shadows projected in front of them from a raised platform and hear an echo that they attribute to what they observe. They talk about and name the shadows of objects they see before them. To them the truth are the shadows. Then one day one of the prisoners is released. He is told that what he saw before was an illusion. Once he is outside it takes a while for his eyes to adjust to the sun. First he observed the shadows of thing then their reflection and finally the actual object. Remembering his previous state he goes back to the cave and tries to explain that everything is an illusion but they laugh at him and think he’s crazy. They believe it best not to ascend and they choose to remain as they are. The cave represented opinion. The shadows that are cast on to the wall represented physical objects. The prisoners represented the common people (Welles).

In Plato's Republic, the great philosopher describes what is needed to achieve a perfect society. He addresses several subjects still debated in today's society, such as justice, gender roles, and the proper form of education. He discusses these issues through his main character, Socrates. Socrates, another well-known philosopher for his time, happens upon a group of men, and what begins as a modest question, leads into a series of debates, metaphors, and allegories. Perhaps the most discussed allegory in today's popular culture is the Allegory of the Cave. Over the past decade, several movies have mimicked the fantasy, the most profitable being the Matrix Trilogy. But what makes this story so fascinating? Through it, Plato attempts to map

There exists a place in one’s mind that determines what is real, and what is not. One could argue this distant concept as being linked to the subconscious; others, such as Neil Gaiman, provide a template for existence on the other side. The children’s story Coraline reveals the truth of darkness and confusion in a supposed replicated dimension. The Allegory of the Cave is an essay written by philosopher Plato that explains the analogy of prisoners kept facing a wall in a cave to those who experience a perfectly formed enlightenment of the mind. Those who break free are unveiled into this bright and amazing world and are initially overwhelmed, for everything that they once thought to be is instantly proved to be wrong, or more to say, altered. The theory of forms, applied to this story, assumes the existence of some distant reality, with the perfect “forms”. This idea provides for all things in the real world that we physically and mentally live in. The forms are theoretically donated into the real world, but lose their perfection along the way, and instead inherit a base for numerous opinions: these are the objects that human’s perceive every day. The forms in Coraline are displayed, with all child appeal, as within a physical small door, leading to the “other side” of the flat. In the world, objects are beautiful and wondrous, but confusion of course sets in, as the new view is so astray from the normal source of opinions. The captured sense is new, and truly; horrific.

The Allegory of the Cave is written by the brilliant mind of Plato. In the famous dialogue, Socrates, a well known philosopher, teaches to a student, Glaucon, about gaining wisdom and enlightenment. He uses the cave and the prisoners as an analogy to help make his argument more clear and understandable. It questions those who have knowledge and their responsibilities. Those who have knowledge may not realize that he or she plays an important role in society and its future. Their role involves appreciation, morals, and betterment for society. When someone gains wisdom from an experience, he or she should be morally obligated to pass on the wisdom to others because it can overall benefit society.

Throughout history, one thing has been consistently clear: humanity is failing.Whether it be consistently, or a huge downfall all at once, humanity has proven time and time again it is not capable of supporting itself with an effective communication system. Yes, world leaders are known to sit down and talk to each other, but has that ever been effective? Are these people talking or participating in a dialogue? The difference between a conversation and a dialogue is that during a conversation, nothing is suspended in order to understand while in a dialogue, people check their assumptions, prejudices, and judgments at the door to have their minds open for discussion.

In the Allegory of the Cave, there is a symbolic representation of an event that did not happen in real life. Is a fictional story in where Socrates asks Glaucon to depict an image of the needs for education, specifically he wants Glaucon to imagine humans as prisoners in a cave and turn sous to the light. In the underground caves prisoners are kept there since childhood incapable of moving their necks, legs and heads because they are all sitting in rows with chains. In general, prisoners are forced to live in a world were they are not able to see and reflect reality. The cave predominantly depicts how individuals are raised in a world were they feel secure throughout their life, and for this reason it was difficult for them to understand the truth outside the real world. Prisoners were living in a world were shadows reflected images of what they believed was to be true. The source of light prisoners have is a fire located above and behind them, more importantly a wall is divided between them, and in this case fire allows the shadows to be viewed which shows the puppet-masters. These are individuals who are making the shadows, noises and using objects to show over the wall. Their focus is to make society be blind and abstained from the real world. Moreover, those shadows allowed prisoners to become comfortable and adapt to the way in which they were living. The shadows also represent the knowledge prisoners may have and for this reason they as society were to live away

The Allegory of the cave is a theory about human perception. It is based in a cave which represents a false world. The prisoners inside (who were born there and have never seen the outside) are shackled and are unable to move their heads. The prisoners are only shown shadows (by the master) which represent a false vision of the real world and the only things they heard were echos from the outside. The master (representing the people who know just a little bit more than others) sets the prisoner free and they soon discover what the real world is like.

The grand examples of symbolism are so universal and so meaningful that even to this day, centuries later, the Allegory of the Cave is one of the most famous allegories in history. The shadows that we see today are the realities that we are limited to. It is reality in a way, but not the entire spectrum of reality as a whole, which one could reason to be infinite. The symbolism represented in the cave by the prisoners watching shadows on the wall is still very relevant today, because the shadows we see distort our sense of what is real. It takes an incredible amount of work and determination to overcome these so called shadows (Jacobus).

When discussing “Allegory of the Cave” it is important to know what it is all about and it why it took place. Prisoners are chained and can only see darkness. They are facing a black wall and are projected to figure out what is real in life and what is not. They are not able to turn their heads. Plato wanted the people be aware of what is going on around them. There are puppets that are behind the walls that are showing shadows. The prisoners can only see the shadows and not the real objects. The can also hear the echoes, but nothing else. The prisoners would mistake appearance for reality. What this really means is no matter what was really behind the wall

Imagine your whole life you have been a slave, born into bondage. In a prison, that you were unaware existed in your present ideal of reality. A prison for your mind, bonded by illusions to control you from the truth. The truth of the matter being the reality, in which you believe to live in, does not exist. Just as the prisoners of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” are blind from true reality in the same way the human population in the movie “The Matrix” written by the Wachowski brothers.

As pointed out in "The Allegory Of The Cave," the Freed Man might even feel that what he was seeing now was the illusion and the shadows on the wall were actually more real. Like Cypher tells Trinity, "I think the matrix can be more real than this

There are prisoners living inside the cave and have been there since childhood, “fixed in the same place...able to see only in front of them” (The Republic pg 187). Behind them is a fire that reflects shadows onto the walls, this is the only reality those prisoners know. They do not know anything that is going on in the real world, which is right outside. Once one of the prisoners manages to break free from his chains, he wanders outside of the cave. At first, it is difficult for his eyes to adjust to the blinding sunlight. Plato writes, “Finally, I suppose, he’d be able to see the sun, not images of it in water or some alien place, but the sun itself, in its own place, and be able to study it” (The Republic pg 188). Fundamentally, the sun is equal to form or an object of knowledge, while the shadows inside the cave are equal to appearances. This metaphor illustrates how education affects the human soul. The prisoner is expanding his mind in the outside world now that he is able to experience and see so much more than the shadows on the wall. The prisoner takes note of how different life outside is. He is slowly realizing what life and education truly mean to

Q: Is Plato trying to say about (people, politics, and knowledge) when he has Socrates describing the cave and its inhabitants?

Philosophy can best be defined as a thorough analysis of debatable ethical problems and generally accepted beliefs. Philosophy has always been around, and ever-present in all cultures, may they be religious, medieval, or secular. However, in order for philosophy to even be possible there must be an individual who dedicates a vast amount of time to study/understand the meaning of life and the truth; these individuals are widely accepted as philosophers. Throughout time there have been a countless number of philosophers, but two in particular stand out amongst the rest; the names of these individuals are Plato and Aristotle. Plato and Aristotle were men from the Western Hemisphere who were revered by many as the greatest thinkers of their time. Even though these men were from the same part of the globe, they did have some differences in beliefs. Plato for example, strongly believed in reality as opposed to Aristotle who

Abstract This synthesis paper aims to give an analysis on the ideas of Plato, Augustine and Descartes on how one will arrive at the “truth”. Plato, Augustine and Descartes have the same goal to achieve the truth wherein Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” is used by Augustine in his search for the truth/God. Augustine’s “Theory of Illumination” is similar with Descartes “Methodic doubt” in search for the truth. Throughout the history of philosophy, many have argued and questioned about how one would be able to achieve the truth.