Essay about Allegory Of The Cave

Submitted By Ellie-Carlson
Words: 1502
Pages: 7
Open Document
Sarah Carlson
Mr. Kennett
Intro to Philosophy
18 February 2015
Allegory of the Cave Philosophy. Why is it that when people hear this word they don’t know what to say? Is it really that hard to come up with a definition? Do most of us just not understand what this particular field of study really is? Or is it because Philosophy is what we think it is? Philosophy can defined as so many different things but only our own personal experiences help us figure out what it truly is. Philosophy is about our values, beliefs, and knowledge in life. However it is also about discipline, attitude, and wisdom. I personally believe that Philosophy is what you make it out to be. With that being said, Philosophy is what helped me write this essay on the “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato from The Republic. This essay will contain a summary from the “Allegory of the Cave” and an own personal experience related to this individual story. “The Allegory of the Cave” is set up in a dialogue formation between Socrates and Glaucon. As the story begins, Socrates is talking to Glaucon one of his students asking him to, “Imagine men to be living in an underground cavelike dwelling place, which has a way up to the light along it’s whole width, but the entrance is a long way up.” (Solomon 67) He continues with having Glaucon picture these men being here for their whole entire life, chained, and only being able to see what’s in front of them. There is a light provided by a fire burning behind them and is much higher than they are. “There is a path across the cave and along this a low wall has been built, like the screen at a puppet show in front of the performers who show their puppets above it.” (Solomon 67) They watch the shadows on the wall presented by the performers behind the wall that stands between the burning fire and prisoners. Socrates then proceeds to explain that if one of the prisoners were to be freed, would he be able to stand up on his own, turn his head, or even be able to look at the light? Socrates explains to Glaucon, that by doing all of these things he would probably feel pain just like you and I would feel if we had been in a car for multiple hours. Furthermore by looking at the fire he would feel the urge to close his eyes so they can adjust to this new bright sight he has been exposed to. By seeing the fire he now can’t see the shadows that he had once seen on the wall. Socrates says, “What do you think he would say if he was told that what he saw was foolishness, that he was now somewhat closer to reality and turned to things that existed more fully, that he saw more correctly?”(Solomon 68) Glaucon says that he believes he would believe that what he has now seen is not reality that what he has been used to his whole life is what is true.
Now Socrates starts to suggest that the man is brought to the opening of the cave where he is to open his eyes into the sunlight. “I think he would need time to get adjusted before he could see things in the world above…” (Solomon 68) Nevertheless though the man would soon realize that the sun provides seasons, years, and this is somewhat in a weird, unusual way is the reason for the things he has once seen. The sun is the ultimate meaning and provider to “life”. Socrates says, “As he reminds himself of his first dwelling place, of the wisdom there and of his fellow prisoners, would he not reckon himself happy for the change, and pity them?” (Solomon 69) Glaucon says of course he would. Henceforth the man has to return to the cave knowing that the truth is unveiled and now what he has always known is totally different. “If you interpret the upward journey and the contemplation of things above as the upward journey of the soul to the intelligible realm, you will grasp what I surmise since you were keen to hear it.” (Solomon 69) Socrates enlightens Glaucon to realize that we are all prisoners in this thing called life. “… So one must turn one’s whole soul from the world of becoming until it can
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about Allegory Of The Cave

Allegory Cave

4.) There were many odd camera angles in the movie. I only counted about twenty. On the show, "TruTalk", Christof stated, "There are about 5,000 cameras in the dome". There were cameras in and or on the trash can, car, gateposts, radio, magazine booth, bus, island post, boat, fish, master lock, compass, bookshelf, weeds at the ocean, the woods, vending machine, buttons, and street curb. When Truman leaves for work we notice his neighbor always carrying a trash can which films their conversation.…

Words 1148 - Pages 5

The Allegory Of The Cave

Josh Morales Mrs. Dax American lit. 9/17/12 The Allegory of the Cave 1. The allegory of the cave is not just about a small group of people (specifically only the prisoners in the cave) but the majority of people everywhere. It’s about being stuck in something fiction since you were born and not being able to even have a thought about living differently because it’s all you’ve ever known. This allegory has a lot to do with psychological manipulation because the puppeteers have full control…

Words 458 - Pages 2

Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

Plato’s story, Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s allegory revolves around one of three prisoners chained in a cave since childhood, whose reality is made up of only shadows. The prisoner is let out of the cave and forced to experience the real world and realizes the truth within the outside world. Another work that can be compared to Plato’s, Allegory of the Cave is Peter Weir’s film, The Truman Show. The Truman Show is essentially a modern, pop-culture version of…

Words 1327 - Pages 6

Allegory Of The Cave Comparison

gave contradicted his past knowledge. Everything he had known before this time contained only lies. This same experience happened in both Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” and the popular movie The Matrix by Andy Wachowski. For years now, the two works have been compared and many come to the same conclusion. While The Matrix and “The Allegory of the Cave” posses differences such as the setting, point of view, and tone the similarities they share throughout their plot, characters, and symbols show that…

Words 1286 - Pages 6

Allegory Of The Cave Essay

The allegory of the cave is possibly the most famous allegory in philosophy. It is from Plato’s masterpiece The Republic and is the form of a parable. The point is to understand the effect that education or the lack of it has on human nature. So basically in the parable, there are a few prisoners who have always lived in a cave and are chained to the walls of the cave. They have no knowledge of the outside world. The cave is dark and damp and there is absolutely no natural light. Behind the prisoners…

Words 624 - Pages 3

Allegory In Plato's Cave

In Plato’s Cave we learned that Plato had created this scene for contrasting those who depend solely on their senses and those who are able to distinguish the world in through the pure reason. “The Prisoner and the Escapee”. So in saying this mathematics is used based solely on reason and not relying on ones senses thus, providing some awareness between the realms “Form” caught up by the appearance. An example of this is in the case of 1+1=2 without doubting the work that is needed. Mathematics…

Words 1703 - Pages 7

Allegory Of The Cave Analysis

In “The Allegory of the Cave” there are many different abstract elements that serve as a double meaning. The overall message of the allegory is to spread the truth. Whether the cave is false knowledge about a belief, or something that is person(ADD) , it is incredibly easy to not come back to the cave of false knowledge, and share with others the knowledge you’ve gained. Plato’s philosophy urges readers to figure out their cave, be enlightened by the truth, and then come back to that cave in order…

Words 460 - Pages 2

The Cave And Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

world with a very unique theory called Allegory of the Cave. The theory described “prisoners” living inside of a cave, only seeing what was placed directly in front of them; shadows. The shadows are the closest things that the prisoners get to seeing reality. Essentially, one prisoner escapes and discovers the outside world. He brings back his discoveries to tell the other prisoners, but they are too skeptical to believe that what he saw was the truth. Plato’s cave theory develops the thought that humans…

Words 560 - Pages 3

Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

Today, those grim traits grip otherwise intelligent individuals, stealing their impact on the world and filling them with a false sense of superiority and ill-guided righteousness, halting any progress towards their ultimate goal. Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" highlights and condemns this dire effect. By nature, people learn in small steps, thus building complex concepts with numerous, small blocks of understanding. Therefore, humanity struggles to comprehend massive concepts with alternate approaches…

Words 1191 - Pages 5

Allegory of The Cave Essay

Teila Toli The Allegory of the Cave In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato tells a story of prisoners chained in a cave since birth, where their eyes are forcefully fixed upon a wall in front of them. On the wall, shadows of images are casted upon it from the objects that appear behind them. Since this is the only thing they have been permitted to see, this is the only reality they understand. Therefore, when one of the prisoners escapes to the surface, he is blinded and astonished by the new…

Words 386 - Pages 2