Education Can Brighten the Cave
Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power… right? In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” he creates a literal and allegorical meaning of the cave. The cave is very dark; therefore, what the prisoners see is limited to the little light provided by the fire and images cast from the shadows. They have no access to the light provided by the outside world. Figuratively, the cave conveys the contemporary world of ignorance and the prisoners represent the ignorant people in the world. The outer world of the light symbolically conveys the world of spiritual reality and knowledge, which we can only achieve by breaking the chains that are used to tie us, such as ignorance. Plato’s philosophy can be applied to interpret my own personal enlightenment, the misconceptions and ignorance …show more content…
This enlightenment is an example of how perception can alter your reality. Until you gain more knowledge based off facts and experiences outside of your own you cannot fully interpret the world around you. For example, today in society stereotypes are a common way of distinguishing people. Stereotypes in many cases are insufficient ideas and beliefs about people and events. We form stereotypes because have incomplete knowledge and understanding, so must depend on generalizations and assumptions to fill the gap. This is no different than the experience of the cave prisoners. They knew nothing, but the shadows so that was their “truth.” It wasn’t until they broke away from their limited interactions and familiarities that they realized their perception was stunted and untrue. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is extremely relevant to our 21st-century society and provides reasoning towards why knowledge truly is power because the more you know, the more you
Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power… right? In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” he creates a literal and allegorical meaning of the cave. The cave is very dark; therefore, what the prisoners see is limited to the little light provided by the fire and images cast from the shadows. They have no access to the light provided by the outside world. Figuratively, the cave conveys the contemporary world of ignorance and the prisoners represent the ignorant people in the world. The outer world of the light symbolically conveys the world of spiritual reality and knowledge, which we can only achieve by breaking the chains that are used to tie us, such as ignorance. Plato’s philosophy can be applied to interpret my own personal enlightenment, the misconceptions and ignorance …show more content…
This enlightenment is an example of how perception can alter your reality. Until you gain more knowledge based off facts and experiences outside of your own you cannot fully interpret the world around you. For example, today in society stereotypes are a common way of distinguishing people. Stereotypes in many cases are insufficient ideas and beliefs about people and events. We form stereotypes because have incomplete knowledge and understanding, so must depend on generalizations and assumptions to fill the gap. This is no different than the experience of the cave prisoners. They knew nothing, but the shadows so that was their “truth.” It wasn’t until they broke away from their limited interactions and familiarities that they realized their perception was stunted and untrue. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is extremely relevant to our 21st-century society and provides reasoning towards why knowledge truly is power because the more you know, the more you