Philosophy CPT: “The unexamined life is not worth living” Essay

“The Allegory of the Cave “is a theory put forward by Plato concerning human perception. People who are unenlightened have limited self- knowledge as this is illustrated by the three prisoners who live in a darkened cave without ever questioning what may exist outside their dwellings. The prisoners are chained in a particular way such that they can only see the wall they are facing. Emerging from the wall are passerby shadows created by the effect of the fire and the people walking with various objects behind them. To the restrained prisoners, the shadows are what encompassed their reality therefore making their lives a complete illusion. As a result, Plato distinguishes between people who mistake

The Apology by Plato delves deep into the concept of wisdom and self-examination. Socrates declares that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Putting this phrase into context, Socrates has been falsely accused by Meletus of corrupting the youth of Athens and believing in artificial gods that were not the same as the gods of Athens. Meletus represents the hypocrisy of the world, he, who is not guiltless in the face of accusation, has falsely accused Socrates of social wrongdoing. These accusations stem from Meletus’ steadfast insecurity of himself. Socrates exposes Meletus’ insecurity that he may be morally corrupt himself. These accusations fulfill that insecurity, that in falsely accusing Socrates of moral corruption, he is proving

Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" presents a vision of humans as slaves chained in front of a fire observing the shadows of things on the cave wall in front of them. The shadows are the only "reality" the slaves know. Plato argues that there is a basic flaw in how we humans mistake our limited perceptions as reality, truth and goodness. The allegory reveals how that flaw affects our education, our spirituality and our politics.

In Book VII of Plato’s The Republic, the allegory of the cave paints a picture of ordinary people imprisoned in a cave. They are facing away

After that, we have Plato and the Allegory of the Cave. In this text Plato distinguishes between people who mistake sensory knowledge for the truth and people who really do see the truth. The story begins in the cave where there are three prisoners, those three prisoners have never seen life outside the cave and have stayed in the cave since their birth day. Outside the cave people carry animals, plants, and etc. The only thing the people inside the cave see are the shadows, not the real object itself. Plato along with the prisoners guess the objects they will see next. Then, one of prisoners escapes from their bindings and leaves the cave. When he is out he is very surprised to what is outside the cave and then realizes that his former view of reality

Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a piece of social commentary that explores humanity's seemingly inherent desire to revel in the bliss of ignorance and the plight that awaits those insurgents who dare to attempt to expose them to the harsh light of the truth. In the metaphor Socrates uses, the chained prisoners represent the population of Athens, the puppeteers manipulating the shadows represent those in power who the people misguidedly revered, and the man who was blinded to the darkness after seeing the truth was none other than Socrates himself. The shadows the prisoners considered reality were in truth lies told by those in power in order to manipulate the masses. Socrates loved to use his wisdom to unmask these pretenders, and because of

I. INTRODUCTION Plato's Allegory of the Cave describes a situation involving all people seeking knowledge and the truth, unified by this goal. The citizens chained together never see the reality, but instead the shadows being cast by it. Furthermore, they cannot speak with those around them regarding their suspicions, as the chains prevent them from doing so. To a college student, the Allegory of the Cave describes the goal that is sought after from education. College is a place students go to become critical thinkers, to question assumptions, and to master knowledge in order to move towards understanding.

The Allegory of the Cave is a theory put forward by Plato but it is a theory kind of like a metaphor They were stuck in the cave and thought the shadows on the wall were their reality. People are locked in a dark cave. They are chained from birth, they are unable to move their bodies and can only stare straight ahead at the wall of the cave. On the fall objects flash like images being projected onto the wall by objects from the prisoners. A fire shows behind these objects that creates the shadows.

Summarize Plato’s Allegory of the Cave article (be sure to include how it describes or relates to the human condition)

The Allegory of the Cave is a passage contained in Book VII: The Republic written by Plato. The passage describes a group of prisoners who are held captive inside of an enormous and cavernous cave. The prisoners sit facing a wall that reflects sunlight, allowing them to observe the shadows cast against the wall by the events going on outside of the cave. The shadows cast against the wall are the only sensory stimulus that the prisoners receive and as a result, they perceive the shadows as reality. Plato continues to describe a single prisoner who is set free from his chains and released into the world. After being released, the prisoner is able to absorb and rejoice in the beauty of the world and experience all the sights, sounds, and tastes

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, allegorical writing is a type of writing that has two sets of meanings, one which can be assumed as literal and the other one is allegorical. Although this piece was written long before my time, the underlying message it intends to convey is still relevant today. Our society is trapped in a cave.

What is the meaning of life? Well known Greek philosphers such as Socrates and Plato believed that our purpose in this life was to gain knowledge in preparation for the next life. Other Philosophers such as Epicurus believed that pleasure is the main goal in life. After giving these ideas lots of thought, I have come to my own conclusion that the true meaning of life is far more complex than either of these; far too complex for any human to fully comprehend. In fact these two different philosophies are only part of the grand picture. If it were that easy for men to figure out our lives wouldn't be so messed up now. The meaning of life revolves around many different things. I

Consequently, each person at some point in life asks some question about life. Some ask if they actually want to live the kind of life they are experiencing, while some will ask other questions like “who am I” or “The importance of their

Life is a complicated twist of suffering, laughing, and learning all merging to tell a great story - or great many stories. Based on this view, "it is not the end goal or outcome of life that gives life meaning but rather the quality of the story, the quality with which one lives out and develops his or her role."

Life as we know it could vanish within seconds. The next day is not promised to anyone that walks on this earth. As we live our everyday lives peacefully, we tend not to think what our mission or purpose in life is. Instead, we think what we must do for that to be a “successful” person. Despite this way of thinking, just think for a second. What makes life meaningful? What is life anyway? These questions dive right into the heart of the philosophical, psychological, and the biological aspects of life and what the true meaning of life is. This is a very arguable topic due to every person’s different perspective on life and what it means to them. In summary, I personally think that life is simply what you make of it and each person’s accomplishments has its own merit