Describe Plato Allegory of the Cave
Describe Plato allegory of the cave (25 marks)
Plato is one of the most important Greek philosophers and a pupil of Socrates. He founded the Academy in Athens, an institution devoted to research and instruction in philosophy and the sciences. His works on philosophy, politics and mathematics which were very influential.The complex meanings that can be perceived from the "Cave" can be seen in the beginning with the presence of the prisoners who are chained in the darkness of the cave. The prisoners are bound to the floor and unable to turn their heads to see what goes on behind them. To the back of the prisoners, lie the puppeteers who are casting the shadows on the wall, which the prisoners are perceiving as reality.
In the beginning of the Allegory of the Cave Plato represents man’s condition as being “chained in a cave,” in Plato’s allegory the prisoners are chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. All they can see is the wall of the cave. Behind them burns a fire all the prisoners see and hear are shadows and echoes cast by objects that they do not see. In platos allegory Plato believes the cave is the world the entire human race are prisoners of the world in the same way the cave represents the limits of their universe or knowledge The cave also represents misunderstanding and distraction, similarly Plato believes our body is a cave and inside the body is the soul ,and the soul is trapped inside the body in which humanity lost everything we required in the world of forms which was the true knowledge when we die the soul is released from our body.
Another interpretation is when the prisoners are trapped inside the cave the prisoners represent humanity ,who don’t know what reality is, because they think reality is just what they can see (the shadows) which is really not reality at all it is mere representation of the truth The prisoners symbolize those of a sensible world unwilling to see or face reality. In their ignorance the prisoners hide away
Plato is one of the most important Greek philosophers and a pupil of Socrates. He founded the Academy in Athens, an institution devoted to research and instruction in philosophy and the sciences. His works on philosophy, politics and mathematics which were very influential.The complex meanings that can be perceived from the "Cave" can be seen in the beginning with the presence of the prisoners who are chained in the darkness of the cave. The prisoners are bound to the floor and unable to turn their heads to see what goes on behind them. To the back of the prisoners, lie the puppeteers who are casting the shadows on the wall, which the prisoners are perceiving as reality.
In the beginning of the Allegory of the Cave Plato represents man’s condition as being “chained in a cave,” in Plato’s allegory the prisoners are chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. All they can see is the wall of the cave. Behind them burns a fire all the prisoners see and hear are shadows and echoes cast by objects that they do not see. In platos allegory Plato believes the cave is the world the entire human race are prisoners of the world in the same way the cave represents the limits of their universe or knowledge The cave also represents misunderstanding and distraction, similarly Plato believes our body is a cave and inside the body is the soul ,and the soul is trapped inside the body in which humanity lost everything we required in the world of forms which was the true knowledge when we die the soul is released from our body.
Another interpretation is when the prisoners are trapped inside the cave the prisoners represent humanity ,who don’t know what reality is, because they think reality is just what they can see (the shadows) which is really not reality at all it is mere representation of the truth The prisoners symbolize those of a sensible world unwilling to see or face reality. In their ignorance the prisoners hide away