The Allegory of the Cave
The Allegory of the Cave entails prisoners who have been held captive in a cave since their childhood. They are tied to some rock with their hands and legs tied together. Their head is positioned such that they can only face the wall in front of them. Behind them is a fire and between them, there exist a raised walkway where people from outside the cave wall along carrying various items on their head such as stone, wood, plants and animals. These prisoners have never stepped outside the cave and the only pictures which they behold are shadows of these passers-by. The fact that they have never seen the real objects leads to them believing that these shadows are real. They go to an extent to play a game of making guesses on which object is to appear next. One who makes a correct guess is congratulated and perceived to be a master of nature.
A Prisoner's Escape
A scenario arises when one of the prisoner succeeds to escape to the outside world. He is intrigued by the reality attached to the present world and deems it unbelievable. However, a long-term exposure to the real world makes him accustomed to it as he discovers many things (e.g., life is sourced from the sun) in his intellectual encounter. He is led to regard the game of guessing, that he once played in the cave, useless (Losin 53). He decides to return to the cave and inform other prisoners of his encounter but they threaten to terminate his life if he frees them.
The Cave as a Representation
The cave plays as a representative to people who only believe that knowledge is a perception of what we see and hear from our surroundings, hence empirical (Brisson n.p). Them that solely believe in empirical knowledge happen to be trapped in a cave encompassed with misunderstanding. The shadows are perceptions of advocates of knowledge established by empirical evidence. Believing in whatever you see will be like seeing a shadow of what is really true and thus you hold no knowledge of the reality. The game illuminates the admiration bestowed for someone who has no clue about the reality which turns out to be ridiculous.
The Escapee as a Philosopher
The prisoner who escapes represents a philosopher who yearns for philosophical knowledge by critical examination of facts. The sun is a symbol of knowledge and truth while his journey represents a philosopher's adventure in exploring truth and wisdom. Returning to the cave to educate former prisoners on the facts he established results to scare. These prisoners represent people who disregard philosophical truths and opt to retain knowledge of whatever they once upheld.
The Nature of Philosophy
Philosophy entails the pursuit of knowledge (Heidegger 160). We live in a world of ideas, reality and thoughts. Our senses only happen to capture what we see or experience in our day to day encounters. Moreover, we are bound to what surrounds us for we fail to exhibit knowledge of places we have never been before. By critically analysing the precepts attached to what we perceive, we become intellectuals of the same. This allegory critically analyses the nature of philosophy by revealing the benefits associated with acquisition of philosophical knowledge and the corresponding challenges.
The Impact of Ignorance
In our quest for knowledge, our ignorance tend to blindfold us to some extent. Being accustomed to something only makes it hard to refrain from it as one has no assurance of the results thereof due to lacking an experience on the subject. Human beings happen to uphold what they were taught from childhood and denouncing such knowledge would seem being disloyal to their faith.
The Role of Education
Plato views education as seeing things differently and thus change in our conception of the truth corresponds to change in conception of our education. Everyone has the ability to learn about the truth and accepting it, but there exist a determinant in terms of willingness to do so. The people who carried the object along the pathway represent the influential individuals in our lives today. Religious leaders, government, media and teachers are an example of individuals with influence to other people's opinion thus a determinant of their attitude and believes in various aspects in the society.
Philosophical Education
Plato postulated that philosophical education reshapes the entire life of an individual who decides to pursue it for it incorporates turning of the soul as well (Brisson 104). For instance, in order to learn, the prisoners in the allegory needed not only to turn their head but also their entire body inclusive of their mind passions and soul. It follows that education causes a spiritual awakening to see the world differently but in a correct way.
The Need for Critical Thinking
According to Plato, we ought to force ourselves into learning the truth and taking an initiative to abide by it. Knowledge acquisition is a tough journey but its outcome is quite substantial. Realization of how the world operates creates a satisfaction which is hard to forgo. Turning around of the prisoner made him realize that the shadows on the wall were not real, but the items casting them were (Losin 53). All that he had lived to uphold turned out to be mere illusions. If he had failed to question his beliefs, he would not have known the reality. This acts as a clear example of the need for critical thinking in acquisition of education. Informing others about the truth doesn't assure that they will accept it in return. Administration of education experiences resistance which has to be acted upon by force.
Gaining Knowledge and Overcoming Ignorance
Plato manipulates the readers into making them believe that they are prisoners, whereas we are not (Bloom 46). This is just but a challenge for us to desire gaining knowledge by regarding us prisoners in the event that we lack interest to it. It makes it difficult for us to watch something without questioning the logic behind its occurrence. In accordance to the ideas of Plato, gain of knowledge is a personal effort where one moves from darkness into light. The light in this case symbolizes knowledge of truth whereas darkness is an illustration of ignorance.
The Power of Knowledge
The study of Allegory of the Cave creates a general understanding on people's behaviour, which is influenced by their context. Limiting someone to a particular setting would only limit his/her reasoning to the same setting (Bloom 37). One would not cherish air travel if they were only accustomed to road travel. The benefits that lie thereof remain to be unfathomable to the individual. An experience on the same may result to be quite intriguing to a degree that he/she will forever wish to relinquish road travel over air travel. It calls for all individuals to desire acquisition of knowledge for their own benefit. Having a deep understanding of what surrounds us not only brings a sense of satisfaction but also a feeling of relevance in society in that others may turn to us for consultation.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold, ed. Toni Morrison's The bluest eye. Infobase Publishing, 2007.
Brisson, Luc. How philosophers saved myths: allegorical interpretation and classical mythology. University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Heidegger, Martin. "Plato’s doctrine of truth." Pathmarks (1998): 155-182.
Losin, Peter. "Education and Plato's Parable of the Cave." Journal of Education 178.3 (1996): 49-65.
