Allegory of the Cave

ALCANTARA, MA. ROMELIE F.

11341092

INTFILO, C38

Essay No. 1

1. Prisoners in the allegory of the cave represent the normal people who have been enslaved by their senses (sight, smell, sound, taste and touch) and perceive them to be real. Most of us are still kept in the dark looking at the shadows cast by the government and media. Unfortunately, we often believe on what they portray. The government hides a lot of information from us and controls most of the things we do in life. Public education approved by the government is one of the reasons we are unable to see the reality. We are being taught based on what the government wants us to believe, especially about history. The same is true for the media. Media is being used to shape our opinion on variety of things. It often portrays unrealistic images that affect the way we think, and our perception of reality has been altered by the information we receive from such medium. Both government and media can be said to be the puppeteers injecting sort of false information onto us to manipulate and blind us from realities.

The one who escaped from the cave, on the other hand, represents people who seek knowledge out of their senses. They pursued their intellectual journey of finding truth and wisdom not merely from what society, government and media provide them, but from spiritual perception. They stepped outside their comfort zone and have been enlightened. This allowed them to broaden their knowledge and to perceive the reality in its true form.

1. The world inside the cave is dark and the only source of light is the fire burning, thus, the objects are hardly seen. The reality inside the cave is being contrived by puppeteers. These manipulators show unreal images and sounds to people making them believe that the shadows and echoes are for real.  On the contrary, there is a good source of light and everything is clearly visible outside the cave.  It is where people can see the true forms. Simply put the cave world is made of illusions, while outside of it is the reality.

The world inside the cave symbolizes a world of ignorance; and the prisoners represent ignorant and unenlightened society. These people simply accept and react accordingly to the information presented to them. They also have limited understanding because they rely heavily on their senses and not on their spiritual perception. The world outside the cave, on the other hand, symbolizes a world of spiritual reality. The person who escaped from the cave is saved from ignorance. People living in a world outside the cave are enlightened and perceive reality in its true form.

1. The general message of Plato/Socrates is that the physical world, or the one we can see, hear, touch and smell, is just an abstract, and reality goes beyond this. The appearing world is just a poor imitation of the real world, and the grasp of reality is possible through spiritual knowledge.  True knowledge comes from reasoning and finally understanding the objects. It is only through reasoning and understanding using one’s mind that an individual can truly understand the nature of forms. This is supported by the statement of Socrates in the Book VII, “Then this is a kind of knowledge which legislation may fitly prescribe; and we must endeavor to persuade those who are to be the principal men of our State to go and learn arithmetic, not as amateurs, but they must carry on the study until they see the nature of numbers with the mind only… because this will be the easiest way for her to pass from becoming to truth and being”. As to the eyesight, Socrates considers appearance, or the one we see, an illusion; and reality is beyond reliance on eyesight. It is through the light of reasoning and understanding that one can grasp reality and true knowledge. It is evidenced by the quote “when a person starts on the discovery of the absolute by the light of reason only, and without any assistance of sense, and perseveres until by pure intelligence he arrives at the perception of the absolute good, he at last finds himself at the end of the intellectual world, as in the case of sight at the end of the visible”.

In order to have a well-ordered State, future rulers must be educated on how to understand the nature of forms and ideas, and to desire for truth and wisdom. Educating the future rulers must involve directing students’/rulers’ minds toward what is real and allowing them to apprehend it for themselves. Obviously, knowledge acquired through seeking for wisdom and deeper understanding about truth and reality are what Socrates value. Unlike using mental capability, knowledge gained through senses is tantamount to seeing only the reflection of the real word which might be inaccurate. These statements are supported by Socrates’ dialogue, “for only in the State which offers this, will they rule who are truly rich, not in silver and gold, but in virtue and wisdom”. Simply put, the knowledge one acquires through his senses is not real while someone who breaks free of the physical world and understands the nature of forms gets to see the reality.