Allegory of the Cave: Descartes, Locke and Hume

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Descartes, Locke and Hume and The Allegory of the Cave The “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato presents a conversation held by Socrates that describes metaphorically the way in which people perceive and believe in what is reality. The allegory of the cave is a map of ignorance to wisdom. Socrates conversation describes how prisoners move through stages beginning in the visible world and ending in the intelligible world. The visible world is divided into stages that consist of images (imagining)/ perceptions (perceiving) and visible things (objects)/ belief (observations of knowledge). The intelligible world consists of stages in mathematical objects (mathematical ideas)/ thinking (reflections) and forms (essence)/ intelligence or knowledge (understanding). The movement through theses stages ultimately brings the prisoners to form of the good (the true). If the prisoners were replaced with the philosophers Rene’ Descartes, John Locke and David Hume their journey to the good (the true) would end at different stages along the allegory of the cave. Descartes journey through the allegory of the cave begins where everyone in the cave begins at, looking at a wall of illusions. Descartes looks at his wall and sees the illusions of the senses, pre-understanding and reason. Descartes begins to doubt and turns away from the ignorance that is being shown to him. Descartes doubt starts him on his journey to find his form of the good (the true). Descartes believes that it is important to study the self so he bypasses the teachers that are presenting his illusions as the truth and as reality and exits the cave into the intelligible world. Descartes is in the thinking (reflections) stage and begins to look within. As Descartes becomes aware of his own process of thinking he realizes his existence: I think, therefore I exist (Cogito ergo sum). Because of Descartes

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