As they question everything, they learn something new. When they first learn the truth they deny it as all their previous beliefs are shattered by this new reality. As for the hostage who is able to escape the cave evinces people who are curious and are able to attain enlightenment. The hostages in the cave are the imagery of the people of the world who believe that they know the reality. The people in the cave are the ones who have been living in ignorance and have not yet discovered the reality of life. Read further to know more about the main idea of Platos Allegory of the Cave. Since nothing is constant or perfect in this world, it cannot be the reality. In his view, reality is perfect and constant. What we see in this world are mere shadows of reality that have not been discovered yet. According to Plato, reality is different from what we see in this world. We believe what we see, without questioning anything. The shadows the hostages see on the wall and believe as reality is like the world we live in. There are several allusions in the story. The allegory depicts the reality of the world we live in. They do not believe him and continue to live in the cave. But they ridicule him and call him crazy, saying that everyone who leaves the cave goes crazy and says such nonsense. He tells them about his entire experience and how he couldn’t believe it at first either.
He tries to tell them that what they see on the walls are mere shadows and the actual reality is different. He tells them about the sun, the big fire behind them, and all the things he has discovered. He then visits his fellow cave members to tell them about this reality and how they have been living in ignorance and how the reality is completely different from what they think it is. With every encounter, he finds something new and learns a different reality, all his beliefs start to change.Īfter several months of learning about this new reality, he feels more confident and starts to understand things. At first, he is unable to believe what he sees and doesn’t understand this new reality, He runs away and hides and denies everything he sees. He sees the people whose shadows he used to see on the wall. He then sees the people who would walk past the cave. At first, when he walks out of the cave, he is blinded by the sun’s bright light but soon adapts to this change. One day, one of the hostages escapes the cave and walks out in the sun. They also know what time each shadow passes the cave and can easily tell each shadow apart. They have gotten so used to witnessing the shadows that they can tell the shadow just by hearing the footsteps of the passers. Their entire life, they have only known these shadows and consider them the reality of life.Īs the day would go by, many people would walk past the cave and the hostages would see their shadows on the wall. Anytime someone outside the cave walks by, they are able to see the shadows on the wall. Behind these hostages is a big fire that casts shadows on the wall they are facing. Each of these individuals has never seen each other but can only hear each other. They are shackled in such a way that they can’t turn in any direction and can only see the wall.
Allegory of the caveĪbout 5-6 people are chained up in a cave facing a wall. It compares human knowledge to their ideas and beliefs and how someone different is treated. The Allegory of the Cave focuses on how our ideas and perception differs from what is the actual reality of life. He proposed “The allegory of the cave” which can be found in his book “The Republic”.
Amongst Plato’s, many contributions to Philosophy is also the allegory of the cave, during the year 375 B.C.E. Epistemology What is the Allegory of the cave?Īn allegory is one of the several literary devices that can take the form of a poem, or a story that may seem simple but has a subtle meaning to it.Since some questions require some sort of proof or evidence for them to be considered true but these pieces of evidence are not considered plausible hence there is much controversy in the topics discussed in Philosophy. It uses rationality to answer the most complex questions. Starbucks Rewards Hacks – Know More What is Philosophy?
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