Coming Back to Platos Cave - 1125 Words

In Plato’s Republic, Book VII, Socrates presents an allegory to Glaucon that is meant to examine the effect of education and knowledge on human beings (514a). This allegory motivates the arguments given in the larger context of the Republic, namely the construction of the perfectly good and just city. Specifically, the allegory shows how the philosopher, as the only person who exits the cave in the allegory, is required to re enter the cave after having exited and come into direct contact with true reality. Some have critiqued the demand on the philosopher to be contradictory to other claims made by Plato, namely the claim that true justice is personal virtue and that it is always doing what is best for yourself. Critics claim that with the in the allegory of the cave, it seems to be to the disadvantage of the philosopher to come back to the cave. The problem doesn’t become any clearer when applied to the philosopher-king either since Socrates clearly states that the ph ilosophical life is better than the political life. Richard Kraut attempts to clarify this seemingly contradictory stance in Plato’s work in his paper Return To The Cave: Republic 519-521. In this paper I will examine Kraut’s argument and offer my own thought on the plausibility of his solution. Kraut explains that two questions must be addressed in order to makes sense of this apparent contradiction that arises from the political serviced demanded of the philosopher. Firstly, we must address the question, isShow MoreRelatedComparison Of Depression In Platos Allegory Of The Cave1169 Words   |  5 Pagesvarious people struggle with in life is depression. In many ways, Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is very similar to depression because the cave is relatively like someones home, the slaves relate to the people suffering from depression, and the light coming from the sun and fire resembles happiness in life. Often times, numerous people who deal with depression cannot bear social interactions because their depression holds them back. Even situations as simple as enjoying the day with their familyRead MoreSimilarities in Platos Allegory of the Cave and A Tale of Two Cities674 Words   |  3 PagesAllegory of the Cave by Plato also goes along with this theme. It is a symbolic depiction of prisoners held in a cave without a true perception of reality. They are brought up looking at only the shadows of what really exists until finally one is released and travels out of the cave into the radiant world above. The theme of light vs. dark is portrayed as metaphors, as the characters Sydney Carton, and the prisoner in Plato’s Allegory, as well as the idea of resurrection. Plato’s Allegory uses theRead MoreAllegories of Life1682 Words   |  7 PagesThe Allegory’s of Life In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato uses a vast spectrum of imagery to explain ones descent from the cave to the light. While Plato uses this Allegory to explain his point through Socrates to Glaucon. This allegory has many different meanings. The Allegory can be used in many different ways, from religion to politics to ones own intellectual enlightenment, or it can be interpreted as the blinded person in a colt like reality. Are we all prisoners in a world that is forcedRead MoreEssay on Examining Reality1144 Words   |  5 Pagesnetworks, which implies men cannot help living in another incubator till death although they cannot recognize they live in the incubator. Plato’s allegory of the cave is analogous to the story line found in ‘The Matrix.’ People live in a cave, looking at their shadows reflected on the cave wall. They never realize they are in a cave. Plato’s allegory of the cave assumes key words leading the story such as chained prisoners, a p uppet handler, and a prisoner trying to find a light. These terms are comparableRead MoreEssay on Whistle Blower and the Allegory of the Cave1282 Words   |  6 PagesAllegory of the Cave† by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind Plato’s allegory is the basic opinion that all we perceive are imperfect â€Å"reflections† of the ultimate forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. The complex meanings that can be perceived from the â€Å"cave† can be seen in the beginning with the presence of the prisoners who are chained in the darkness of the cave. The prisonersRead MoreThe Allegory of the Cave700 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† in the early 300 B.C. This parable has left many scholars dumbfounded throughout centuries because of the insight Plato fills the pages within the story. It is a story of prisoners trapped in a cave, but specifically about a mans journey from ignorance to knowledge. This is the worldly take on the story—in a biblical point of view it is still a journey from ignorance to knowledge, but in a very different context. The journey from the darkness of the cave into the light ofRead MoreCharlie: A Prisoner of the Cave989 Words   |  4 Pages Plato, one of the most well-known philosophers in the ancient Greece, wrote an ultimate allegory known as â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave†. It is about a man coming out of a cave after being chained as a prisoner for his entire life and what he goes through upon reaching surface. The ideas presented in â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† are very similar to the ideas presented in Daniel Keyes’s novel, Flowers for Algernon. He used an excerpt from the metaphor to start his novel. In Keyes’s novel, a 32 year oldRead MoreAllegory of a Modern Day Cave1013 Words   |  5 PagesAllegory of the Modern Day Cave â€Å"Plato’s Allegory of the Cave† was the philosophical story of people who lived in this cave, and never left. They were bound to one spot, and could never move. The only light was this fire in the middle of the cave, that was on the other side of a wall that separated the fire from the cave dwellers. There were also other people who carried objects above their heads on the fire side of the wall. This made shadows on the actual cave walls, which were the only thingsRead MoreEssay on Platos Allegory of the Cave1315 Words   |  6 Pagescriticized? In Plato’s Allegory of a Cave he describes an example of people conforming to the norm they were born into and then shows the results of a person emerging from this community into a completely new and different world. People today are trapped into conforming to the American way to avoid being chastised but if we all stand up and make our own decisions based on what we want and our own path, eventually individuality w ill become the social norm. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the personsRead MoreFighting for Freedom of Education and Human Rights in Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave and Malcolm X’s â€Å"Learning to Read† simil...655 Words   |  3 Pagesthinking about effect of education – or the lack of it – on our nature, there is another comparison we can make.†(The Allegory of the Cave by Plato p.1) Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece; he was fighting for freedom and education. Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim who was fighting for human rights. We have two stories one is â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† and â€Å"Learning to read†, why do we have to compare this two stories? Can we conclude some very important things after reviewing? Education