The Allegory of the Cave by Plato - 916 Words

The â€Å"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). As Socrates is describing the cave and the situation, he stresses the point that the prisoners are completely oblivious as to what is reality as they would know nothing but the shadows casted by items held by the puppeteers, and believe this to be their own reality. This is important to the story as it shows that what we believe is real from the moment we are born is completely wrong based on our own flawed interpretations of reality. The point so far is that it is not what we can see but what we can’t see is what grasps our minds and Plato describes this thinking as â€Å"imagination.† Once one of the prisoner’s is released, he is forced to look at the fire and the objects that once made up his perceived reality, and realizes that the new images he is made to acknowledge are now the accepted forms of reality.Show MoreRelatedAllegory Of The Cave By Plato1722 Words   |  7 PagesAllegory of the Cave Human experiences are an everyday aspect of individuals lives. The way individuals see, touch, smell, feel, and even remember is through unique experiences. People do not realize it, but our everyday life and community shape how the mind experiences certain events. Because of these, the way individuals see the world is different from person to person. The mind interprets the world around the individuals, however, it can only interpret what it is exposed to. It is up to the individualsRead MoreThe Allegory Of The Cave By Plato1511 Words   |  7 PagesIn our class, we read three powerful and meaningful texts. We started by reading The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived from 428-347 B.C.E. This text led to our reading of The Four Idols by Francis Bacon, an English philosopher who came much later than Plato and lived from 1562 to 1626. Lastly, we read The Word Weavers/World Makers by Neil Postman, who lived from 1931-2003. There seems to be a recurring theme in which they themselves deal with ideas of knowledge and illusionsRead MoreAllegory of the Cave Plato6021 Words   |  25 Pagescomfortable with this unawareness because it is all we know. Platos Allegory of the Cave† captures the essence of the journey to enlightenment. 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As the story begins, Plato’s teacher, Socrates, presents a world of alternate reality to Plato’s brother Glaucon by telling him to imagine a cave full of prisoner’s who have been chained their entire lives. The shadows, voices, and figures given to them by the puppeteersRead MoreAllegory Of The Cave By Plato934 Words   |  4 Pagesour lives, every person has asked themselves a varied version of the same questions: What is â€Å"reality†, moreover what determines our perception of reality, and what am I supposed to do with (or about) it? Throughout â€Å"Allegory of the Cave,† Plato attempts to answer these questions. Plato suggests that humans have a constrained view of the world, and that reality consist of two different perceptions, a bodily eye† and a â€Å"mind’s eye.† The â€Å"mind’s eye†, the hypothetical site of visual recollection orRead MorePlato s Allegory Of The Cave1716 Words   |  7 PagesIn Plato’s, Allegory of the cave, a key theory I found was the importance of education. Plato uses an â€Å"allegory to illustrate the dilemma facing the psyche in the ascent to knowledge of the imperishable and unchanging forms† (104) Based on my research of the republic, the allegory can reveal multiple hidden messages. Plato describes, ordinary mortals are chained within an underground chamber, which according to Fiero, represents the psyche imprisoned within the human body. These mortals can’t lookRead MorePlato s Allegory Of Cave1979 Words   |  8 PagesJaneva Walters December 6, 2016 Dr. T. Brady ENG 391 Plato’s Allegory of Cave 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. 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