Summary of “The Allegory of the Cave”
“The Allegory of the Cave,” is a small excerpt from The Republic, Book 7, written by a famous philosopher named Plato. In this excerpt, he vividly describes a mystical process that prepares and awakens man to his true destiny. Prisoners are captivated in the cave in their entire life where they see nothing but an illusion, only a shadow of the object. By chance, one of the prisoners is forced to go outside of the cave, where he discovers the nature of reality-represented by the sun. When this enlightened person returns to the cave to enlighten his fellow prisoners, they don’t believe him, they couldn’t even imagine a world beyond the shadows. Plato argues that once the enlightenment is achieved, then it is man’s role to enlighten others. However, Plato is aware that to share the ultimate truth to others is an arduous task because he/she might go through humiliation and rejections from them. Throughout the excerpt, Plato shows the difference between knowledge or …show more content…
The prisoners are reluctant to accept changes to their belief because it's painful for them to adapt to new beliefs. “Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner” Plato. These fellow prisoners choose to dwell in the shadow of unreality in their entire lives rather than to practice or seek truth. The cave prisoners only see shadows, not the real objects that make the shadows. In other words, they do not see the ultimate reality, but only a mere shadow of what they have been shown. Almost anything that we see directly in our surroundings are nothing but just an illusion, a shadow of the object. Plato believes we don't see reality directly. Everything is compared to the mere picture of shadows. And hence, only by thought process and reasoning can we approach the ultimate
“The Allegory of the Cave,” is a small excerpt from The Republic, Book 7, written by a famous philosopher named Plato. In this excerpt, he vividly describes a mystical process that prepares and awakens man to his true destiny. Prisoners are captivated in the cave in their entire life where they see nothing but an illusion, only a shadow of the object. By chance, one of the prisoners is forced to go outside of the cave, where he discovers the nature of reality-represented by the sun. When this enlightened person returns to the cave to enlighten his fellow prisoners, they don’t believe him, they couldn’t even imagine a world beyond the shadows. Plato argues that once the enlightenment is achieved, then it is man’s role to enlighten others. However, Plato is aware that to share the ultimate truth to others is an arduous task because he/she might go through humiliation and rejections from them. Throughout the excerpt, Plato shows the difference between knowledge or …show more content…
The prisoners are reluctant to accept changes to their belief because it's painful for them to adapt to new beliefs. “Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner” Plato. These fellow prisoners choose to dwell in the shadow of unreality in their entire lives rather than to practice or seek truth. The cave prisoners only see shadows, not the real objects that make the shadows. In other words, they do not see the ultimate reality, but only a mere shadow of what they have been shown. Almost anything that we see directly in our surroundings are nothing but just an illusion, a shadow of the object. Plato believes we don't see reality directly. Everything is compared to the mere picture of shadows. And hence, only by thought process and reasoning can we approach the ultimate