Allegory of the Cave: Plato: Truth and Art
Allegory of the cave is one of the most interesting, enlightening and insightful example given by Plato in his book The Republic to explain such vague concepts as knowledge and truth. It appears in form of dialogues between Socrates and Glaucon and they touch upon various important concepts in connection with learning and discovery. Two very vital subjects discussed are art and truth. When we closely study the allegory, we realize that for Socrates and Plato, art was something powerful and thus dangerous. In this allegory, art has been presented in a negative light because Plato saw what people could do with art. He saw it in the form of drawing on the wall in the dark cave and realized that while art offered a means of communication, it could suppress man's ability to think clearly and may even fail to illuminate the senses.
Plato was of the view that most people in this world are living in complete darkness and art facilitates this retarded growth of men. This darkness has made it impossible to see the 'actual, unchanging' truth and thus the knowledge they possess about people and things is highly impaired. The great philosopher is trying to explain why people of greater knowledge can often encounter ridicule by those who have refused to come out of the cave. This is indeed a very interesting analogy, which must be analyzed carefully in order to understand its significance and relevance to this world. Before delving deeper into the explanation, it is important to know precisely what various objects in this allegory are representing. The cave refers to our current restricted existence. Sun represents the unchanging, great...
Allegory of the cave can be summed up in one single sentence. It symbolizes the place of perceptions in the pursuit of knowledge. Indeed, in a preamble to the actual relating of the allegory, Plato is involved in a discussion as to who can be considered a true philosophy. The discussion meanders around attempting to answer the following enigmas: Just because someone subscribes to a specific philosophy, does that make
The discrepancy between the ideal and the real and the difficulty of arriving at the truth through deduction and induction is something that everyone must grapple with who deals with the ethics of a profession, like accounting. "Prisoners may learn what a book is by their experience with shadows of books. But they would be mistaken if they thought that the word 'book' refers to something that any of them
However, once the enchained individual is set free, we could assume that realizing his own potential could make him wiser than the person who originally helped him. Another interesting idea that Plato introduces through the allegory of the cave states that all of us can become "superior" through a process of training which evolves a lot of effort and dedication. I agree to the fact that all people can overcome
S. is on its way to chaos, anarchy and a national catastrophe. The pursuit of individual freedom without respect for authority will eventually lead to these consequences. What keeps U.S. strong and independent is that free enterprise and not the illusion of a contemporary democracy. A basic difficulty in American democracy is its attempt to mitigate all the aspects of negative human nature. Criminals are given equal rights as honorable
Plato's Cave Allegory Plato's writing in the cave allegory deals extensively with moral values, materialism, ethical behavior and spirituality. The plot and basic concepts (discussed below) lend an incredible helping hand to understanding our place in this world given these frameworks. Plato's Allegory of the Cave (Republic, book 7) recounts slaves chained from their very birth to their work areas deep in a cave. They are chained in a manner that precludes
Plato's Allegory Of Cave Less than a hundred years ago, women in the United States and in many other parts of the world were not permitted to participate in politics: they were deemed inferior to men by nature of their gender. In spite of rampant sexism in modern society, the thought of women being unable to vote seems preposterous. The shift in consciousness that took place with the nineteenth amendment to
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