Ignorance In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, the prisoners would be restrain in the bottom of the cave where they cannot see or talk to each other. In the opening of the cave there is a light of fire, a screen, and a road. Travelling on the road is merchants with their animals and cargo. The prisoner in the cave can see the shadow of anything that passes the opening. One of these prison was able to venture above and see the objects portray by that shadow as they are seen in real life. The cave is a representation of darkness and ignorance because the prisoner know no better or are capable of understanding. The prisoner that got free emerge into light where he is free to learn whatever he pleases and can find the truth of the shadows seen in the cave

Consequently, in Plato’s “Allegory of The Cave” we come to find a set of cave people that are chained and blinded to the world that they are living in. These are the individuals that one would consider to be the unenlightened, those who live in a world of lies and deception. Which Plato refers to as the sensory world. Although the vast majority of these individuals believe in this false world that has been created for them to believe. According to Plato’s allegory, there are those few people who get the opportunity to get out of the cave that they are chained to, “suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he is forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be pained

In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave he discusses reality and how it is directly influenced by one’s own perception. The idea of my own personal reality is one I have spent many nights contemplating. As proposed by Plato, reality, even if it is a lesser reality, is still a reality to someone who hasn’t been yet been enlightened. Even though the one prisoner was released from the cave and discovers that everything he learned since childhood was false, he cannot return the cave and instill his wisdom into the other prisoners. Just as the freed prisoners reality was changed when he was enlightened to the world around him, so has mine over the years. I must discover my own truths in this life for no one can instill them into me. One would have an easier time teaching a pig to fly.

After reading Plato’s Allegory of the Cave I began to wonder whether or not others have encountered an experience similar to what Socrates described here. In the cave Plato conjures up the theory that humans and the prisoners in a cave have similar characteristics. One of the characteristics is that we are close-minded people until someone or something comes along to prove that our ideas are incorrect in some way, shape, or form. As humans we have an interesting way in which we learn things and this is exhibited throughout the Allegory of the Cave.

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, Plato shows how enlightenment could change not only the way you perceive the world, but also how the world perceives you. Plato uses the two chained prisoners to represent the world, and the escaped prisoner to symbolize whoever has learned and advanced their knowledge. Understanding is learning, but to understand fully it takes time and through time and learning comes experience. As explained by Plato, if the escaped man were to return to the prisoners in chains then they would surely mock and tease him due to his inability to become accustomed to the darkness as quickly as he once was able to.

At first glance any quote might confuse someone, but as with everything, you must look at the quote and read the quote over and over again. Only then will you begin to fully understand the deeper meaning behind writing, such as quotes. A good example of this is a quote from Allegory of the Cave; “And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow-prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate/congratulate himself on the change, and pity them?”

What is wisdom? Wisdom is the experience that you learn in life. It is seeing these experiences and asking yourself questions: What can I do differently? How can I change? What else can I learn? Being open minded leaves the door open to a much brighter world. We will see things differently, perhaps even better than before. Having a better insight in life is truly what wisdom is. Many philosophers both old and present have their own way of defining this. Some of the views may be similar to my own views while others are just different. I will explain how my answer to this question has or hasn’t changed since reading

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is a story that is meant to reveal to the reader a “deeper truth.” Plato is notorious for using stories and characters to get his underlying message across, which in this case happens to be about the reality of truths. In most of his writings he uses Socrates, but in this instance he uses unnamed prisoners and an underground cave. The stories that I find fascinating or interesting leave a lasting impression on me rather than, heavy philosophical texts. Those can become tedious and boring very quickly, but clever playful stories are easier to follow along with and are easier to become invested in.

Throughout the Socratic dialogues, Plato’s method of philosophy follows the same general form. Socrates first asks his fellow interlocutors a specific question that will be the main point of the dialogue at hand. Then because the people in the dialogues are seen to be people who are respected in their fields, the people begin to answer Socrates question. After they answer this question to the best of their ability, Socrates finds a flaw in their answer to the prompt. This cycle continues until the end of the dialogue, where the reader has a clearer sense of the definition but not a complete answer.

When I first read Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, I was confused. I couldn’t tell exactly what he was saying, it took me a few times to begin to understand what he was trying to say and what Socrates was stating. I don’t think the “prisoners” are prisoners just because they are chained, but because they are fed lies and forced to believe them. They are not allowed to come to the light, the sun, and realize the truths that are being kept from them.

The significance of studying and discussing Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave helps the reader to understand that what Plato is saying in the chapter happens in the society today. Also, it helps us as readers to understand the purpose of this writing piece. The purpose of writing this piece is to show the roles the people can take in the real word. Those roles could be a prisoner, a puppet master, or a philosopher. Plato also wanted to show that what people see from their eyes is not always true. It can deceive them. Plato uses symbolism to prove this point.

Bound by chains securing appendages and fixing faces to look only at the wall ahead; bound from birth this is the only position these bodies have known. The wall ahead flickering with light from the fire at their backs is the only light they know. A wall separates these prisoners from people carrying objects. The objects cast shadows on the walls and these shapes are the only things the prisoners know. They do not know anything outside this cave, outside their chains.

The Allegory of the cave is a philosophical essay written by Plato, who argues the point in which society holds individuals from enlightenment. Plato starts his argument by depicting a cave in which prisoners are chained. The prisoners are only allowed to see shadows and hear voices that are censored to what the higher class wants them to know and believe. To further prove his claim, Plato argues what will happen if a prisoner is dragged out of the cave to experience enlightenment and grow stronger with knowledge. Plato proves his philosophy when he describes the individual descent back to the cave to find a disapproving community in the darkness.

Ancient Greek philosopher Plato was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. His writings sought out justice, attractiveness and equality, and contained elaborate conversations in aesthetics, political philosophy, theology, cosmology, epistemology and the philosophy of language. He also founded one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world, the Academy in Athens. Plato died 348 B.C.E in Athens. What is a lesson to be learned from Plato’s analogy of the cave?

The intention of the allegory of the cave is to show how our nature, our society, is unenlightened – the extent of our knowledge and understanding as mere humans is simply nothing in comparison to that of philosophers, those who have reached the form of the good. The allegory is as follows: people are metaphorically shackled in a cave underground, they cannot move their heads and are forced to look at a wall. Behind them, behind another wall, is a fire and as puppeteers walk past this fire with objects, shadows are then cast on the wall. The people therefore suppose that what they are seeing in the shadows is the truth, the reality of the world. These prisoners are representing us, humans, who are philosophically ignorant, this is supported when Socrates says, “like ourselves, they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another… truth is nothing but the shadows of