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Misconception Of Reality In Plato's Allegory Of A Cave

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Lost in the Darkness

We presume we make individual decisions and determine ideals for ourselves and that our knowledge is accurately the truth, but do we really? Plato utilizes an allegory to provide a clearer visualization of misconception of reality in our society. Failing to recognize the influences that prevent our achievement of accurately obtaining truth and truly being of moral character propels us into the deceptive truth of society. The purpose in Plato’s “Allegory of a Cave” is to encourage one to strive for precise reality by understanding the restrictions that hinder the individual in obtaining the ultimate enlightenment and knowledge, but rather basking in the comfort of the misconception of reality and the only way to obtain that untainted knowledge is education and overcoming fear. …show more content…
The individual’s morals and ideals are created through their environment. Plato utilizes the cave, puppeteers, and shadows to explain the impact our environment has to our reality and moral character. Failing to evaluate the credibility of our foundation for our understanding of what is morally true results in our “truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (Plato 1120). Without unbiased evaluation of our perception, we are being deceived through our own misguided reality.
Our comfort with our flawed reality prevents the acceptance of the truth. When confronted with a new idea “[w]ill he not fancy that the shadows which he formally saw are truer than the objects that are now shown to him?” (Plato 1121). To achieve enlightenment one must reject the natural inclination to revert to familiarity, and embark on accepting new ideas. The more we embrace new philosophies, the deeper our awareness of good becomes, and the closer we get to obtaining enlightenment and

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