Plato's Allegory Of The Cave
Drafty
Plato was born in 427 BC in Athens, Greece. He was born into a wealthy and aristocratic family with a political background. Plato's father claimed he was a descendent of Codrus, the last king of Athens; on his mother's side he was related to a Greek lawmaker by the name of Solon. Plato's father died when he was still young and the rest of his childhood was spent with his mother and her new husband Pyrilampes, an Athenian politician.
Although Plato had many political influences in his childhood, he chose not to serve in the same manner as his family had. Plato chose not to become associated with the declining Athenian politics, but rather he began writing poetry and competing in athletics. As Plato grew older he was introduced to pre-Socratic philosophical teachings concerning metaphysics and knowledge. Sometime early in his life, Plato met Socrates, an …show more content…
"Most of us, Socrates says, are like prisoners chained before a wall in a cave, unable to turn our heads. What we call reality is actually a mere shadow play on the wall, projected from behind our backs by persons carrying statues of humans and animals and carved likenesses of other ordinary objects before a fire that is behind them." (Rice, pp. 79) This allegory is attempting to simplify the ideas of forms and the reality of what is perceived as real. The prisoners in the cave are those people who have not achieved a philosophical understanding of forms, so they remain affixed by the shadows. The shadows are representing worldly objects, which we see with our senses. The prisoners see the shadows and believe that they are real, and they communicate with each other concerning these shadows because they do not know the truth. The statues carried in front of the fire are the true forms Plato speaks of. The forms are understood by philosophers who realize that worldly matter is simply a reflection of true
Plato was born in 427 BC in Athens, Greece. He was born into a wealthy and aristocratic family with a political background. Plato's father claimed he was a descendent of Codrus, the last king of Athens; on his mother's side he was related to a Greek lawmaker by the name of Solon. Plato's father died when he was still young and the rest of his childhood was spent with his mother and her new husband Pyrilampes, an Athenian politician.
Although Plato had many political influences in his childhood, he chose not to serve in the same manner as his family had. Plato chose not to become associated with the declining Athenian politics, but rather he began writing poetry and competing in athletics. As Plato grew older he was introduced to pre-Socratic philosophical teachings concerning metaphysics and knowledge. Sometime early in his life, Plato met Socrates, an …show more content…
"Most of us, Socrates says, are like prisoners chained before a wall in a cave, unable to turn our heads. What we call reality is actually a mere shadow play on the wall, projected from behind our backs by persons carrying statues of humans and animals and carved likenesses of other ordinary objects before a fire that is behind them." (Rice, pp. 79) This allegory is attempting to simplify the ideas of forms and the reality of what is perceived as real. The prisoners in the cave are those people who have not achieved a philosophical understanding of forms, so they remain affixed by the shadows. The shadows are representing worldly objects, which we see with our senses. The prisoners see the shadows and believe that they are real, and they communicate with each other concerning these shadows because they do not know the truth. The statues carried in front of the fire are the true forms Plato speaks of. The forms are understood by philosophers who realize that worldly matter is simply a reflection of true