Zengotita's The Allegory Of The Cave

Coming to college, I was eager to formally learn more about philosophy. As we began to study works of Plato, I found the Allegory of the Cave to be especially interesting. The thought of this specific concept lingered with me for a while as I had little time to stop and think about it. One night however, I could do some deep thinking and began unlocking a great door whose key was given to me by Plato’s allegory.

The Allegory of the Cave, also know as The Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave or Parable of the Cave is presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work “The Republic “ as a theory concerning the perceptions of human kind and compares the effects of education to the lack of education on our observations. The passage is written as dialogue between Plato’s brother Glaucon and his teacher Socrates.

In the ‘The Allegory of the Cave’, Plato uses a philosophical situation to help us as the reader to examine our perception of life by what is around us. Plato uses such an abstract situation to show that we can mistake the information that we gain due to our position in a situation for truth.

“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

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.

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

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.

To begin, both “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury are pieces of literature that illustrate a symbolic scenario of human society, and the relationship between individual truths and reality. As they both share the same vital messages concerning society’s reactions to unfamiliar and new knowledge, both passages contain similar themes and characters. Comprising of universes that include people who are heavily influenced by physical and mental barriers, “Allegory of the Cave” and Fahrenheit 451 emphasize the importance of curiosity, insight, and radical perception.

Plato who was a Greek philosopher was born around the year 428 BCE, where he was known for opening an academy. The academy was considered the first university in the western world. In “The Allegory of the Cave”, three prisoners were tied up and could only see the shadows that reflected from the wall. They have been living in the same cave as prisoner for practically there whole life. The shad`ows represent things that are believed to be true. One prisoner got free and experienced the reality of the world but the other prisoners just laugh at him when he comes back. Plato is telling people In “The Allegory of the Cave”, the rhetorical appeal is a metaphor of the sun and symbolism.

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

What is Philosophy? Well, by conventional definition, Philosophy is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. This, while providing a contextual definition of the word philosophy, just scratches the surface of its actual meaning. In this essay we will attempt to answer “What is Philosophy?” by discussing the works of Plato and Rene Descartes. First, we begin by summarizing and comparing the theme of their works for similarities so as to better form a definition. In order to begin answering the question, “What is Philosophy?” we must comprehend each author’s method, themes, and goals throughout their works.

The “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato represents the differences in the way we perceive reality and what we believe is real. In his story, Plato starts by saying that in a cave, there are prisoners chained down and are forced to look at a wall. The prisoners are unable to turn their heads to see what is going on behind them and are completely bound to the floor. Behind the prisoners, puppeteers hide and cast shadows on the wall in line with the prisoners’ sight, thus giving the prisoners their only sense of reality. What happens in the passage is not told from the prisoners’ point of view but is actually a conversation held between Socrates and Glaucon (Plato’s brother).

When we are young our morality is shaped as we learn from our family and the environment. “Psychologists say a child must develop a sense of values by the age of seven to become an adult with a conscience” (Rosenstand 4). Children experience a plethora of information and subsequently build their personalities based on what they learn from growing up in their given culture. We are a product of our environment in the sense that we