The Perception In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

The disinclination of humans to question the information they perceive is a timeless phenomenon. This concept dates back to 380 BC, when Plato wrote the short story, “Allegory of the Cave”, in his magnum opus, The Republic. The allegory depicts humankind as prisoners, bound so they can only see what is directly in front of them: shadows cast by various objects passing behind them. However, as they have only ever been exposed to the shadows, the prisoners believe they are the true forms of each object. When one breaks free and discovers the real world, he returns to the cave to enlighten the others, who refuse to stray from what they have known all their lives. This represents the idea that humans are innately inclined to accept only what they know be their reality and avoid anything that may contradict their personal truths. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” argues that individuals are far too trusting of the information fed to them by society and adamant in preserving their beliefs because they fear the unknown.
In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, the speaker presents the idea that the prisoners, emblematic of individual members of society, believe wholeheartedly that the …show more content…
Individual members of society are so uncomfortable with the idea that all they know is a lie that they grow violent when their views are challenged. 2,400 years after Plato’s allegory was written, it still encompasses one of human’s most basic flaws: the inability to question reality as they know it, and hostility towards those who dare to do so. To this day, ignorance is a common characteristic among individual members of society that can only be vanquished when these people choose to acknowledge that their realities are not the ultimate