Allegory Of The Cave
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Allegory Of The Cave
Plato begins his allegory with Socrates challenging Glaucon to imagine a scenario of humans living in bondage. These humans have only known one narrow view of what life is. Soon the thought of what would happen to one of the humans if he were removed from this cave and brought into the light and reality of the world. Socrates then describes the transition this human would have to endure to be able to see the world for what it truly is, after a lifetime of bondage and delusion. Finally after finally using his eyes for the first time in the light, the human is sent back to his previous bondage. Upon coming back Socrates describes how his eyes are no longer able to function in the extreme dark. It is this fact that causes his peers in bondage to outcast him for his revelation.
This allegory is Plato’s way of saying that all humans are born into the “bondage” of the tangible world. Just like the shadows the humans saw, we perceive physical things in this world as “real”, simply because we think to see is substantial proof of truth, when in reality it is not. These humans were chained to the so they could not move their bodies or heads much like the world chains us with its own. When the human ascends into the real world he is hurt by the light. This is a great deal like how it pains anyone to learn something they have believed for so long is really a lie. After the initial sting of the truth, we are able to see the beauty of reality, however the man did not see clearly right away. First the man had to see distorted images through the unclear reflections of water. Then he was able to see the objects without the water. Next he could see the bright stars, moon, and heavens above. This all eventually leads up to the sun which ultimately symbolizes ultimate revelation of truth. This is a process that takes time and many steps to reach the next brightest truth we can handle. In seeing the truth we then know what it is that is expected of us and what it is that is worth...
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