This proves that the prisoners do not know what real is so every one of them has his own definition of what real is; therefore they name what they see according to their opinion. In another experts Plato illustrates how the prisoners would assume mistakenly that what they hear is the sound of what they are viewing. “And suppose further from that the prison had an echo which came from the other side, would they not be sure to fancy when one of the passersby spoke that the voice which they heard came from the passing shadows”(Plato 20). What Plato means is that the prisoners would assume that the voice they hear is coming from the shadows that they are seeing. The prisoners cannot see further than their noise because their thoughts and opinions are controlled; therefore they are lead to make the wrong
The “shackles” are like a symbol of how they all have this same way of living and thinking. Each of them have been tied together in this world of not knowing the life outside of the “cave”. The thought often scares those without the ability to understand that reality is what one may make of it when embracing the situations you may encounter daily. (The Republic) Yes, I do believe it is important for people to escape “the Cave”. According Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" The chained man was suddenly released from his bondage and let out into the world.
There are human beings in a dark cave, bound by chains and facing the wall; they see only shadows of themselves and the shadows that are shown to them by other human beings behind them. They have been there since birth, so what they see on the wall in front of them is what they perceive as reality. However, one is finally set free from his chains and thus is able to see the real reality; he is able to see the world as it exists not as it is shown to them. He sees the shadows, then reflections, then objects themselves, then the stars and the moon, and finally sunlight, which symbolises the actual nature of things or the truth. After having set eyes on the sun, this man cannot go back to the cave, to the dark, and see the world as he used to before he started contemplating the truth.
In Plato’s Theory, the cave represents people who believe that knowledge comes from what we see and hear in the world (empirical evidence). The cave shows that believers of empirical knowledge are trapped in a ‘cave’ of misunderstanding. Once a single prisoner is set free from his chains, he ventures towards the light through curiosity and
We see that ideas are eternal and perfect, even though the physical world crumbles. The "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind his allegory is the basic tenets that all we perceive are imperfect "reflections" of the ultimate Forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. In his story, Plato establishes a cave in which prisoners are chained down and forced to look upon the front wall of the cave. When summarizing the "Allegory of the Cave" it's important to remember the two elements to the story; the fictional metaphor of the prisoners, and the philosophical tenets in which said story is supposed to represent, thus presenting us with the allegory itself.
Explain Platos allegory of the cave (25) The Greek philosopher Plato established his allegory of the cave from his writings in 'The Republic' and has multiple morals that are displayed through Socrates and Glaucon. Here his hypothetical argument questions the relationship between the world of appearances and reality, illustrating people worthy of ruling (philosophers) cannot trusting their empirical knowledge though the senses, but only through understanding the world of the forms through intellectual knowledge can we experience a dim recollection of reality. The allegory begins with a description of prisoners in a cave, who are only able to look strait ahead because they are chained. Plato's use of a cave is argued to have built upon the earlier philosopher Empedocles who said 'we have come under this cavern’s rood, conveying the sense of being trapped in a different world away from light and reality. This is similar to Plato's idea the material (body) trapping the immaterial (soul).
They cannot turn their heads around; they can only look forward at the wall of the cave. A light comes to them from a fire burning some distance behind them. Between the fire and the chained men is a raised platform on which a low wall has been built. Behind the wall are people, like puppeteers, who carry all sorts of articles like statues of men and other living things which they hold above the wall. Some of the bearers speak and others are silent, as you might expect.” “I see,” said Glaucon [Socrates’ student].
Plato used this analogy to help his less educated contemporaries at the time understand why the physical world of sense is nothing but an illusion and that the intelligible realm is where the truth can be found. In the analogy Plato presents human beings living in a cave, which represents humans inhabiting the sensible realm. In the cave, prisoners are chained up by their necks and legs and are therefore unable to turn around. Since they have been chained up this way for their entire lives they have no experience of life outside the cave. Behind the prisoners is a low wall, a walkway and a large fire that lights up the cave.
For the first time he saw the real world and knew that what he was seeing far beyond the shadows from the cave. Later, he returns to his fellow prisoners in the cave to tell them about the real world. To his astonishment, the prisoners did not believe him and instead, became angry. They believed that the shadows were reality and that the escaped prisoner is crazy for saying otherwise. According to Plato, the outside world represents the world of forms.
It merely is his life — he knows no other. Plato next envisions what would happen if the chained man were released and let out into the world. Plato describes how some people would immediately be frightened and want to return to the cave and their familiar existence, whereas others would look at the sun and finally know reality. In the Cave, I feel the common prisoner best represents me. These prisoners are a symbol of life before we are fully "educated" according to Plato's ideal.