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Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

Decent Essays

The Greek philosopher, Plato, explored many themes in his writings, including justice, beauty, and equality, as well as sub-discussions within each work. Throughout The Republic, he seeks to define justice in its purest form and provide solutions to unanswered questions. In early books, Plato identifies political justice as harmony in a structured political body. Ideally, this perfect, harmonious society would be composed of three primary classes. The first being producers, the second warriors, and the last rulers. Specifically in Books V and VII, Plato focuses on the rulers of society, referring to them as philosopher-kings. Using three distinct analogies, these being the allegories of the sun, the line, and the cave, Plato explains who these individuals are while simultaneously defining his Theory of Forms. In Book VII of The Republic, Plato presents the last of the analogies—the allegory of the cave—through the dialogue of Socrates. …show more content…

The people, practically prisoners, are chained by their legs and neck, preventing them from turning their heads to survey the surroundings. Strategically positioned behind them, out of sight, is a wall situated between the prisoners and a fire, which allows for a slight glow. All along this wall, a sort of walkway, people proceed to carry various statues and carvings. These statues cast distorted shadows on the wall that the prisoners are facing due to the light of the fire. The prisoners are able to hear the murmurs of the people on the walkway, as well as watch the shadows on the wall. As these are the only actions they see, they begin to match the voices with the shadows, convincing themselves that the shadows are the most concrete things of the

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