How Plato Uses the Myth of the Cave Essay - 896 Words

How Plato Uses the Myth of the Cave Could reality be the greatest special effect of all time? Since the 6th century B.C.E a growth in human knowledge and understanding had occurred and people began to question the world rd they lived in, these people were called philosophers. Thales, Anaximander, Anaximines, Pythagoras, Heraclitus and Socrates were all highly regarded intellectuals but one mans thoughts on the world stood out. Plato is probably the best known of al the ancient Greek philosophers. His philosophy contributed to the evolution of many ideas about God and films such as The Matrix. One of the most famous books about of philosophy is Platos The Republic. In†¦show more content†¦In the cave, one of the prisoners is set free. He is able to stand up and turn around. At first the movement is painful and the light from the sun blinds him. He then realises that his form of reality was not as it seems. He then retreat back to the fire but is for ced outside. The more his eyes adjust to the light the more he understands about the truth. The former prisoner feels sorry for the other that are still in the cave so he goes back to the cave. When he sees the shadows again he realises that how false the actually were. But the people still chained laugh at him as he has spoiled his ability to see the puppet show. The passage ends with the prisoners in the chains saying that they will kill anyone who tries to set them free. The myth compares the situation of Platos prisoners with the situation of all human beings. I want you to go on picture the enlightenment or ignorance of our human conditions as follows. What humans think of as real is an illusion in the same as the prisoners in the cave thought that the shadow on the cave was real. Plato believes the empirical world makes humans, prisoners as they are trapped by their ignorance and lack of understanding of the way things really are. Plato epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with human knowledge and tries to find out the limits of human understanding. In the allegory of the cave itShow MoreRelatedComparison: Allegory of the Cave and the Myth of the Metals1171 Words   |  5 PagesAllegory to Myth In the Republic, Plato uses reason to model the ultimate form of civilization where everyone achieves his/her human potential. This should not be confused with individual equality, for Plato sees a harmonious and virtuous community where citizens are under a hierarchy and working together for the greater good of the state. The question, however, remains: How does one achieve Plato’s ideal state when there is evil and deception in the world? In answering this question, Plato puts forthRead MoreThe Myth Of The Cave1391 Words   |  6 PagesPhilosophy 10 December 14, 2015 The Myth of the Cave What is real, what is not, how can I really know the world around me? 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