Platos Allegory Of The Cave Essay - 1749 Words

Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is full of meaningful, thought provoking lessons that have been analyzed be scholars and philosophers for years. One of the basic lessons we can draw from it is immaterial truth, or forms. In Plato’s cave scenario, the men who only see shadows have ideas of what they are seeing. They conclude they can see certain things and can name those things. But what they see as an actual object, they are actually just seeing a shadow of the actual object. â€Å"If they discuss things with one another, don’t you believe they would hold that they are naming these things going by before them that they see† (The Republic of Plato pg.194). They can conclude that they see certain objects, but what they actually see, is only the†¦show more content†¦As most people know, the truth hurts. Being told something that was different from what you originally believed is very hard to comprehend; it can be disorienting, just like in Plato’s readings. Most people are like the men in the cave and live in the shadow. Seeing the Forms of most things, and not comprehending the truth about them. But if someone is brought into the light, they then are able to see the truth about things. â€Å"And from there he could turn to beholding the things in heaven and heaven itself, more easily at night—looking at the light of the stars and the moon—than by day—looking at the sun and sunlight† (The Republic of Plato pg 194). Plato talks about how being exposed to the light allows the man to see â€Å"heaven and heaven itself†. This is an important exclamation because Plato is saying that those who are brought into the light are able to see everything and understand everything. This just emphasizes the fact that Plato believes almost everyone lives in the shadow of the cave and can’t actually see images and materials for what they really are, we can only see their Form. We live i n the shadow, in opinion, we cannot actually see the truth and that makes us dangerous to the few people who go into the light and see the truth. This is apparent for Plato’s teacher, Socrates, who was murdered by people who were afraid of what he was teaching. â€Å"†¦and wouldn t it be said of him that he went up and came back with his eyes corrupted, and that it’s not evenShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Matrix and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave 1922 Words   |  8 Pages many of the revelations and claims demonstrate philosophical influences. That said, the question of existence versus illusion exhibited in the film, meet the criteria for Plato’s allegory of the cave. Plato explores the idea that the real world is an illusion in the allegory of the cave in The Republic. Plato imagines a cave in which people have been kept prisoner since birth. These people are bound in such a way that they can look only straight ahead, not behind them or to the side . On the wallRead MorePlatos Allegory Of The Cave Essay1537 Words   |  7 Pagesthe limits of reason and morality. Having freedom equals having the power to think, to speak, and to act without externally imposed restrains. As a matter of fact, finding freedom in order to live free is the common idea in Plato with The Allegory of the Cave; Henry David Thoreau with Where I lived and What I lived for; and Jean Paul Sartre with Existentialism. Generally, Plato, Thoreau, and Sartre suggested that human life should be free. They differ in what that freedom is. Plato thinksRead MoreEssay on Platos Allegory of the Cave1315 Words   |  6 Pagescriticized? In Plato’s Allegory of a Cave he describes an example of people conforming to the norm they were born into and then shows the results of a person emerging from this community into a completely new and different world. 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Knowledge is required under compulsion has not hold on the mind.(Durant 24). Platos dialogues are the fruit of a rare mind; but the could not have kept their perennial freshness if they had not somehow succeeded in expressing he problems and the convictions that are common to PlatosRead MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave in Pleasantville Essay1087 Words   |  5 PagesWriter and director Gary Ross captured the essence of Plato’s philosophical views in his movie, Pleasantville. The movie is about two siblings, David and Jennifer, who live in completely different high school social scenes. Jennifer is the wild, extroverted teen who is obsessed with partying and boy drama. David, on the other hand, is a social outcast and spends most of his time watching TV, specifically, his favorite show, Pleasantville. David idolizes the show because of the perfect town inRead MoreEssay about Platos The Allegory of the Cave818 Words   |  4 PagesPlatos The Allegory of the Cave In Plato’s â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave,† he suggests that there are two different forms of vision, a â€Å"mind’s eye† and a â€Å"bodily eye.† The â€Å"bodily eye† is a metaphor for the senses. While inside the cave, the prisoners function only with this eye. The â€Å"mind’s eye† is a higher level of thinking, and is mobilized only when the prisoner is released into the outside world. This eye does not exist within the cave; it only exists in the real, perfect world. The â€Å"bodilyRead MorePlato’s Allegory of the Cave and The Matrix Essay2251 Words   |  10 PagesThe Republic is considered to be one of Plato’s most storied legacies. Plato recorded many different philosophical ideals in his writings. Addressing a wide variety of topics from justice in book one, to knowledge, enlightenment, and the senses as he does in book seven. In his seventh book, when discussing the concept of knowledge, he is virtually addressing the clichà © â€Å"seeing is believing†, while attempting to validate the roots of our knowledge. By his use of philosophical themes, Plato is ableRead More Analysis of Platos Allegory of the Cave Essay example995 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of Platos Allegory of the Cave Platos 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. The flaw that Plato