![]() ![]() The cave is the virtual prison made by ourselves because of the ignorance behind our minds. The word prisoner refers to ourselves, arguing that we are prisoners of our own beliefs. Some of those words are shadow, cave, fire, prisoners, voices and light. Another important point about the allegory is the uses of certain words which have a particular meaning in the story, making the reader push themselves to understand the greater meaning behind his words. The second type of knowledge, which is based more on learned life experiences, is evident in the released prisoner who discovers the real world through his own experience. This type of knowledge is based on “truths” without any type of personal connection. These people would label things as reality solely because they believe what they are being told. That kind of knowledge where the person’s belief is based on what he/she can see or hear due to his/her lack of education is evident when the people in the cave see the images on the cave wall created by the puppets and figures with the fire and hear the echoes. Returning to the subject of the types of knowledge, these two ways of thinking referred to by Plato represent two completely different aspects of us. The final process, where he becomes enlightened, is represented when the now ex-prisoner is able to reason the Sun as the cause of all things. When he comes out, and he only sees the shadows and the reflections of natural things, those actions symbolize the process of adaptation and preparation. The released prisoner that comes out of the cave and tends to return, represents the man accustomed to the error, who doesn’t recognize the truth even when it is in front of him, and is afraid to leave their past views. The released prisoner who confuses fake objects and the fire with reality, and has not even left the cave, symbolizes those people who feel awkward about the process of knowledge and who are not ready to confront it. In this allegory the chained men symbolize the most erroneous and ignorant people. Plato’s main idea is to reflect the different stages and the process of education, how a philosopher can reach the top and become enlightened. Accustomed to sunlight, he sees blurry shadows, making others laugh, and they would remark that it would have been better, if he had stayed in the cave, and if someone tries to release another prisoner, that person should be caught and put to death. Accustomed to the light, he begins to see other objects like trees, flowers and houses and he realizes that the perspective he had about the world was completely different from what it really is.įinally the prisoner comes back to the cave to convince the others about the existence of the things he saw. The prisoner is forced to go out of the cave, his eyes begin to adjust to the sun light, and he can’t look at anything more than shadows. He is very confused by what he sees but finally he realizes that the shadows are just a representation of what is really there. One of those prisoners is released and starts walking around the cave. Because of their limited vision (lack of movement), those men can only see their own shadow and the shadow of different sculptures that pass over the wall, which are carried by other men they can’t see. Behind them, at the distance, there is a blazing fire, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a wall meant for objects to pass. They have been there since their childhood and they can barely move their heads. Plato writes about Socrates describing a scene where there are chained people in a dark cave. ![]()
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