In his famous “Allegory of the Cave,” Plato describes the journey to knowledge and truth, explaining how we come to know reality and why it is that some people are unable to attain true knowledge. In this essay I will be unfolding Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and explaining the prisoner’s journey from darkness (ignorance) to enlightenment (truth), explaining the philosophical view on reality versus belief and the process someone undergoes to achieve enlightenment.
The reader is brought into a philosophical conversation between Socrates and Glaucon where it is told that inside a dark cave there are prisoners, “…human beings living in a underground den…here they have been from their childhood…theirs legs and necks chained so they cannot move …show more content…
Plato says “… when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows…” (p. 2). After being released from his chains, the prisoner finds it both difficult and painful for him to move. Since he has been chained his whole life his body is weak. The prisoner will then come across the fire; in which is painful to his eyes because all his eyes have seen is darkness. After adjusting to this new knowledge, he is able to understand that the shadows he saw as his reality were really just illusions. The prisoner questions why he has been set free for all he is experiencing is pain and confusion - he is being introduced to all the things that he never knew existed. This is overwhelming for the prisoner, as he is now realizing that his whole reality is far from …show more content…
Plato says “…when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?” (p. 3). It is unfortunate that many are unable to leave the cave and will continue to be bound by ignorance. Although, those who are given the opportunity to seek knowledge have an obligation to return to the cave to share the truth with those who remain blinded in the darkness, however, the truth is not always accepted. Our characters debate that, “…before his eyes had become steady would he not be ridiculous? Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes…” (p. 3). Since those who re-enter the cave need to adjust again to the darkness, they appear to know nothing at first- stumbling down into the cave, unable to see clearly. Our prisoner returns to the cave bringing knowledge of the truth, but it is neither understood nor accepted by the other prisoners, and he appears foolish. While he will have to readjust to the darkness, he knows this does not matter as he has been out in the daylight and has seen what is beyond the cave. He realizes the other prisoners do not want be freed: the cave is all they have come to know, it is their reality; the cave is where they are most comfortable. Leaving the cave would mean they would have to adjust to new
The reader is brought into a philosophical conversation between Socrates and Glaucon where it is told that inside a dark cave there are prisoners, “…human beings living in a underground den…here they have been from their childhood…theirs legs and necks chained so they cannot move …show more content…
Plato says “… when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows…” (p. 2). After being released from his chains, the prisoner finds it both difficult and painful for him to move. Since he has been chained his whole life his body is weak. The prisoner will then come across the fire; in which is painful to his eyes because all his eyes have seen is darkness. After adjusting to this new knowledge, he is able to understand that the shadows he saw as his reality were really just illusions. The prisoner questions why he has been set free for all he is experiencing is pain and confusion - he is being introduced to all the things that he never knew existed. This is overwhelming for the prisoner, as he is now realizing that his whole reality is far from …show more content…
Plato says “…when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?” (p. 3). It is unfortunate that many are unable to leave the cave and will continue to be bound by ignorance. Although, those who are given the opportunity to seek knowledge have an obligation to return to the cave to share the truth with those who remain blinded in the darkness, however, the truth is not always accepted. Our characters debate that, “…before his eyes had become steady would he not be ridiculous? Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes…” (p. 3). Since those who re-enter the cave need to adjust again to the darkness, they appear to know nothing at first- stumbling down into the cave, unable to see clearly. Our prisoner returns to the cave bringing knowledge of the truth, but it is neither understood nor accepted by the other prisoners, and he appears foolish. While he will have to readjust to the darkness, he knows this does not matter as he has been out in the daylight and has seen what is beyond the cave. He realizes the other prisoners do not want be freed: the cave is all they have come to know, it is their reality; the cave is where they are most comfortable. Leaving the cave would mean they would have to adjust to new