(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Plato and The Cave

            
             The "Myth of The Cave", written by Plato had a very profound impact on the world, philosophically speaking. The "Myth of the Cave" is the story of a group of people that were put in a cave and were made to live there all of their lives. Their backs were to the entrance of the cave and they were tied down in a manner that they could not turn around to see anything. They were placed lower in the cave and high above them was a fire and a quarry where men worked all day, the fire projected the shadows of whatever was about them onto the wall in front of the cave dwellers. This was all they knew their entire life time and this was all they were meant to know, but on man broke loose and found the real world. He found out that there was much more to life than shadows and he was overwhelmed by the beauty of everything. He was so overwhelmed that he wanted to share this beauty with the other cave dwellers. None of them believe a word that he said and he was killed because of his silly notions. Plato had two things in mind when writing this story and those two things were; The World of Senses and The World of Ideas.
             Plato puts the world into two categories, The World of Senses and The World of Ideas. The World of Ideas illustrates how things can be called by the same name. It is because they all have something in common. He called this common factor the thing's form or idea. Plato insisted that the forms differ greatly from the ordinary things that we see around us. Ordinary things change but their forms do not. One good example is the horse. The philosopher asked Sohie how all horses were alike and it is because they all share some characteristic that enables them to be identified as a horse. Horses can be altered in shape, but their forms can never change.
             The second "world" that Plato speaks of is The World of Senses. The world of senses would state that things can be known not only by the intellect but also by the senses.


Essays Related to Plato and The Cave

1. The Allegory of the Cave

The Allegory of the Cave Plato was the son of a noble and wealthy family, and had planned to have a career in politics when the trial and eventual execution of Socrates altered the course of his life. ... Unlike Socrates, Plato was both a writer and a teacher. ... One of Plato's most publicly known myths is the parable with which the Seventh Book of the Republic opens. In this allegory of the cave Plato introduced us to the teaching that there is a truth beyond sense. ... Plato's allegory starts with a depiction of the pathetic condition of most of mankind. ...

  • Word Count: 1261
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Plato's Cave: Escaping The Shadows

The allegory of Plato's cave is a dialogue between Plato and Glaucon. ... The people that are in Plato's cave, the prisoners, have been there since childhood. ... This corresponds directly to Plato's cave. ... The idea of Plato's cave is apparent in Living Buddha, Living Christ. ... Another quote that relates to the Plato's cave allegory is: "Which is it? ...

  • Word Count: 1393
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Plato's Cave Allegory

Plato's Cave Allegory The Cave allegory Plato spoke about was not attributed to a "cave" in the literal sense, but rather to an inner "cave" that resides in all individuals. ... All of the people within the cave, both those facing the wall and those on the elevated wall have one thing in common; they are all "prisoners". ... Plato suggests that once one has been enlightened, you are viewed as a threat to the other prisoners" way of life. ... The cave symbolizes those who are afraid of the unfamiliar and see only one way of doing things. ... This is evident by the numbers of ind...

  • Word Count: 393
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Plato

Plato's The Cave Allegory, a dramatic myth told in the seventh book of the Republic, is a prime example of an author who attempts to answer the question why it is important to "philosophize". ... The Cave Allegory is used to answer the question, "What is Plato's view of humanity and how can we obtain real knowledge?" ... During Plato's time, the cave dwellers could be compared to those who gained their understanding from the poets, Homer and Hesiod. ... I think that Plato's Cave Allegory was very much influenced by his predecessor, Socrates. ... Finally, the essential poi...

  • Word Count: 657
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Plato'sAllegory of the cave? In Plato'sAllegory of the cave? ... Plato described this experience ascoming out of the cave and into the light.? ... Plato's work relates to my own life because I just cameout of the cave? ... In conclusion the piece Plato's Allegory of the caves it resembles a change for individuals in their conquest for knowledge. ...

  • Word Count: 709
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Plato

In The Cave, Plato describes a vision of shackled prisoners seated in a dark cave facing the wall. ... The Cave suggests to us that Plato saw most of humanity living in "the cave", in the dark, and that the vision of knowledge and the "conversion" to that knowledge was salvation from darkness. ... Plato's two worlds: the dark, the cave, and the bright were his way of rejecting the Sophists, who found "true knowledge" impossible because of constant change. ... The Cave showed us this quite dramatically. ... In The Cave we move from the dark of the cave to the light of outdoors, we even see...

  • Word Count: 1197
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Allegory of the Cave

Plato is considered one of the greatest philosophers in history. His "Allegory of the Cave" gives us great insight into the human condition. ... Plato's cave has several such symbols, as well as some that are not so obvious. ... The prisoners in the cave represent humanity. ... The only noises the prisoners hear are echoed off the cave wall. ...

  • Word Count: 615
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Allegory of the Cave

In the Allegory of the Cave Plato argues for enlightenment, but he also presents why choosing enlightenment can be dangerous and painful. ... Plato explains, that when a person is taken out of the cave that they will be "pained and irritated." ... When the man is being taken out of the cave he first sees the fire, when he looks at this fire "his eyes ache, so that he would try to escape and turn back to the things he could see distinctly" (Plato, 229) Now imagine the sun, it must be a million times brighter than a fire, the pain must have been unbearable. ... (Plato, 230) The man, newly enli...

  • Word Count: 696
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Allegory of the Cave

In Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave," he suggests that there are two different forms of vision, a "mind's eye" and a "bodily eye." ... Plato suggests that the senses do not perceive actual truth. ... There is a concrete difference between the two eyes discussed by Plato. ... By using the same word, "eye," to refer to both, Plato is suggesting that there is a connection between the two. ... Plato chose this device because it simplifies a difficult to grasp subject. ...

  • Word Count: 834
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question