Essay about Platos Allegory of the Cave - 1305 Words

Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is the most significant and influential analogy in his book, The Republic. This thorough analogy covers many of the images Plato uses as tools throughout The Republic to show why the four virtues, also known as forms, are what create good. The â€Å"Allegory of the Cave†, however, is not one of the simplest representations used by Plato. Foremost, to comprehend these images such as the â€Å"divided line† or Plato’s forms, one must be able to understand this allegory and all of its metaphors behind it. In order to further comprehend Plato’s analogy and thought behind â€Å"Allegory of the Cave†, we are obliged to learn of his uprising as a philosopher and what his beliefs were. Plato was originated from a wealthy, noble†¦show more content†¦This line consisted of four segments and two halves. Within the first half (the smaller half) it presented the sensible world, or the physical world, whe re we use our senses to recognize our surroundings. The first segment held all that was unreal such as dreams and illusions meanwhile the second segment provided reality, all physical objects. The second half (the larger half), represented the intelligible world, where thought and discovery is made. In the third segment there was mathematical knowledge whereas the fourth and final segment held the highest purpose, the Theory of Forms. This theory consists of four virtues wisdom, justice, piety and temperance and when combined it creates the Forms of all Forms, the Form of Good. â€Å"Plato states that the Form of the Good is the ultimate object of knowledge, although it is not knowledge itself, and from the Good, things that are just gain their usefulness and value. Humans are compelled to pursue the good, but no one can hope to do this successfully without philosophical reasoning.† As we learned in the lecture, the Greeks held man very highly. They believed humans were the most significant and vital aspect of life itself, therefore only good should surround it. In the play there are two characters Socrates and Glaucon, Plato’s brother. Socrates begins to describe the inside of a cave, which symbolizes the sensible world, where prisoners are held captive and chained, immobilized from the head toShow MoreRelatedPlatos Allegory of the Cave1521 Words   |  7 PagesPlato’s Allegory of the Cave Essay One of Plato’s more famous writings, The Allegory of the Cave, Plato outlines the story of a man who breaks free of his constraints and comes to learn of new ideas and levels of thought that exist outside of the human level of thinking. However, after having learned so many new concepts, he returns to his fellow beings and attempts to reveal his findings but is rejected and threatened with death. This dialogue is an apparent reference to his teacher’s theoriesRead MorePlatos Allegory of The Cave752 Words   |  3 Pagesinterpreting Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave’’ in which is a representation that described a narrative of the society of people in before Christ years. I realized how there was a major comparison of people in today’s society that reflected the same prisoner traits as the prisoners that were described in the dialogue. According to the Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave.† It described conditions of people chain ed at birth unable to function as independent individuals that were locked in a protracted dark cave. TheyRead MoreAnalysis Of Platos Allegory Of The Cave864 Words   |  4 PagesOn the surface of Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† it is just a simple piece, but the main purpose of the piece is to explain people living in a world of face value and having individuals break free from the main idea to create a new sense of what the world is truly about. In here, Plato uses the writing style of allegory to encompass the use of imagery and symbolism to explain his purpose. He also uses very clever dialogue with constant repetition to represent a bigger idea about the philosophy withRead MoreExplain Platos Allegory Of The Cave1483 Words   |  6 Pagesquestions they raised. For instance, Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is essential for philosophy because it answers the question of why should anyone engage in philosophy. This paper will explain Plato†™s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† in both classical and modern manner as well as suggest philosophical topics for further inquiry. Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is told through the lips of Socrates, Plato’s teacher, to Glaucon, Plato’s brother. Socrates suggests imagining a deep cave having a large room and a steepRead MoreAnalysis of Platos Allegory of the Cave948 Words   |  4 PagesPlatos Allegory of the Cave Platos Allegory of the Cave is also termed as the Analogy of the Cave, Platos Cave, or the Parable of the Cave. It was used by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic to illustrate our nature in its education and want of education. It comprises of a fictional dialogue between Platos teacher Socrates and Platos brother Glaucon. Socrates gives a description of a group of people who spent their lifetime facing a blank wall chained to the wall of a caveRead MoreAnalysis Of Platos Allegory Of The Cave1532 Words   |  7 PagesIn the allegory written by Plato titled â€Å"Allegory of the Cave†, Plato discusses the concept of seeking knowledge and gaining wisdom. He uses a story of prisoners trapped into a cave to represent the confines of reality that humans are put into, and a lone prisoner exiting the cave to represent a philosopher seeking a greater understanding. Plato’s writing tells of the flaw that all humans share, which is the fact that we believe our p erceptions to be the absolute, incontestable truth. It is thisRead MorePlatos Allegory Of The Cave Essay1749 Words   |  7 Pages Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is full of meaningful, thought provoking lessons that have been analyzed be scholars and philosophers for years. One of the basic lessons we can draw from it is immaterial truth, or forms. In Plato’s cave scenario, the men who only see shadows have ideas of what they are seeing. They conclude they can see certain things and can name those things. But what they see as an actual object, they are actually just seeing a shadow of the actual object. â€Å"If they discuss thingsRead MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave and Advertisements1889 Words   |  8 PagesJulian Figueroa (#30973127) 1 An Allegory of Advertisements How does Plato’s allegory influence the way we consume art today? Every minute of every day, millions of people are exposed to advertisements. They plague televisions, streets, radio waves, and all means of communication. These advertisements employ many methods of persuasion and their influence is irresistible. Just like prisoners in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, we are told every day to invest our time and interest into the subjectRead 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 will become the social norm. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the personsRead MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave3086 Words   |  13 PagesPrompt: Define Plato s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave†. What is the central message? Is he describing education alone? Where does politics come in? Plato is known to many as one of the most influential and greatest philosophers to have lived. Plato represents his idea of reality and the truth about what we perceive through one of his famous writings, â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave†. The philosophical writing is in the form of an allegory, which is â€Å"a story in which the characters and situations actually represent