Aristotle`s Allegory of the Cave

p Plato 's Allegory of Cave Abstract

In the allegory of the cave , Plato makes an attempt to describe the condition of the people who are chained to their narrow world of reality . They can see only the shadows of the objects reflected by the fire behind upon the wall of the cave they have been chained in for the life . They can 't see even their fellow prisoners , the objects outside the cave , the exit to the cave . Therefore , they are led to believe what they see-images or shadows of real

objects- as ultimately real . One of the prisoners escapes and is amazed at what he sees outside . He overcomes his illusion and goes back to the cave to speak the truth to his fellow prisoners , but they disbelieve him and are even angry at him They think he is crazy . The allegory has several implications

The Greek Philosopher Plato has used the allegory of cave in The Republic . The allegory is discussed and interpreted by the character Socrates in the beginning of the book 7 , 514a-520a . The other allegories in the context used are the metaphor of the sun and the analogy of the divided line . We also note the allegories summarized at the end of book VII and VIII

Before discussing the allegory , we shall briefly state the analogy of the divided line so as to appreciate the context of the allegory of the cave better . In The Republic , Book VI , there is a discussion between Glaucon and Socrates , in the form of dialectic . Socrates is trying to explain the four types of knowledge based on their truth and clarity And now corresponding to the four divisions , let there be four faculties in the soul , intelligent answering to the highest , reason to the second , belief (or conviction ) to the third , and perception of shadows or illusion to the last , and let there be a scale of them , and let us suppose that the several faculties have clearness in the same degree that their objects have the truth (The Republic , Book VI

The ascent of knowledge from illusion to the highest principles has been expressed through the analogy of the divided line , while the allegory of the cave sums up Plato 's perspective on an ignorant humanity trapped in the depths and not even aware of its own limitations . The rare individual has the ability to escape the limitations that the cave has , to discover a higher realm , a true reality . This reality is the true reality , almost mystical in its content . The highest truth described here is Goodness , as the origin of everything that exists Such a person is the most qualified , according to Plato , to rule because he posses true knowledge and a deeper understanding of reality the less , this person will be misunderstood by the folks back in cave because they do not share his intellectual insight (The Allegory of the cave .htm

Plato used his allegory of cave to illustrate his idea of...