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Similarly, the analogy can be made with anyone who continues to live an unhealthy lifestyle or pursue bad relationships.
The image of the light is a strong one in Plato's cave story. Light symbolizes knowledge, power, and information. Light symbolizes the truth. The word "enlightenment" refers to the person who sees the light, who sees the truth. Discovering the source of light proves that the shadows are merely illusions -- the effect of light bouncing off concrete objects. The awareness that reality is an illusion is a liberating but frightful experience. For many people, enlightenment creates too much pain. Enlightenment forces genuine lifestyle changes. Using Plato's analogy, enlightenment means leaving the comfortable and familiar world of the cave.
One of the key moments in Plato's allegory of the cave is when the individual must choose whether or not to return. Socrates rightly assumes that there is great risk...
It may be far better for individuals to discover on their own the nature of reality. It is virtually impossible to force someone to "see the light." In some ways, Plato is suggesting that the effort and growing pain of returning to the light is as important as the awareness obtained. The "whole body," as Plato puts it, is required to achieve total liberation from the illusions of the cave.
Plato's allegory of the cave applies to many different situations in which people have trouble accepting reality. For example, a drug addict enjoys the temporary pleasure of a fix (corresponding with the shadows in the cave), while refusing to undergo the temporary pain to achieve liberation. Others exit the cave but do not know what to do with their newfound knowledge. Plato describes the growing pains associated from making profound changes to one's life after realizing the truth.
After all, Socrates tells Glaucon that if the prisoner who sees the sunlight were to venture back in the cave and break the news that the shadows on the wall were illusions, he would be killed. However, it is possible to enjoy the pleasures of the body without causing harm to the self or to others. The key is to acknowledge truth and wisdom. Morgareidge suggests that collectivism can help
Plato's Allegory Of The Cave And The Movie The Matrix Plato's allegory of the Cave and the 1999 Matrix movie share many similarities and look at a similar question of what is real and who has the responsibility to point towards the truth. It is obvious that the creators of the Matrix have inspired quite significantly from Plato's work and putting in a modern contexts, aiming for a different result. In Plato,
Plato Cave The Sociological Implications of Plato's Allegory of the Cave Social enlightenment is an abstract concept indeed, and one that is tied closely to collective ways of understanding and perceiving complex cultural dimensions such are hierarchies, forms of governance and variances of individual economic burden. However, our understanding of this abstract concept may be enhanced by Plato's well-known "Allegory of the Cave." Comprising Chapter VII of Plato's critically important The Republic,
Plato's Allegory Of The Cave If he were simply presenting the idea that humanity is often blind to the fullness and vast resources of the world and what it offers, using the cave as a metaphor would have been enough for Plato to make his point. If the only point was that individuals -- because they are so wrapped up in their own shallow lives, petty distractions, and so loyal to
Republic, Plato's allegory of the cave is included as a way of describing the path from ignorance to enlightenment. Plato describes a group of people chained inside a cave, who cannot see anything except for the shadows cast on the wall in front of them by other figures. This represents humanity prior to the development of philosophy, because viewing these shadows dancing on a wall is closest people had
Plato's Republic Plato Republic In Plato's Republic, he states that democracy is second only to tyranny as the worst form of government because tyranny arises from democracy. This goes against what most people believe of democracy. Today, democracy is viewed as the best political system because the prime tenets of a democracy are freedom and equality. Essentially, democracy is all about free people governing themselves. However, Plato is critical of democracy precisely