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The Allegory
Because of how we live, true reality is not obvious to most of us. However, we
mistake what we see and hear for reality and truth. This is the basic premise
for Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, in which prisoners sit in a cave, chained
down, watching images cast on the wall in front of them. They accept these
views as reality and they are unable to grasp their overall situation: the cave
and images are a ruse, a mere shadow show orchestrated for them by unseen men.
At some point, a prisoner is set free and is forced to see the situation inside
the cave. Initially, one does not want to give up the security of his or her
familiar reality; the person has to be dragged past the fire and up the
entranceway. This is a difficult and painful struggle. When individuals step
into the sunshine, their eyes slowly accommodate to the light and their
fundamental view of the world, of reality, is transformed. They come to see a
deeper, more genuine, authentic reality: a reality marked by reason. The
individual then makes the painful readjustment back into the darkness of the
cave to free the prisoners. However, because he now seems mad -describing a new
strange reality - they reject him to the point of threatening to kill him.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is a direct representation of the human condition,
the circumstances we as humans presently encounter, circumstances such as
conceptual frameworks, or basic beliefs, and our typical behaviors in society.
The allegory metaphorically describes our situation as human beings in the
world today. In his story, Plato utilizes several key elements to portray his
metaphor of the human condition. Plato’s image contains pertinent ideas about society
that are relevant to my everyday life. Through his reading, I have begun to
discover the ideal form, the use of reason over perception to approach, view,
and judge all things.
Prisoners, watching life unfold on the cave wall in front of them, accepting
what they see as truth, as reality, are literally people. Every average person
in this world is a prisoner, chained down. These chains that bind the prisoners
to the floor are beliefs. Take clothes for instance, a person may not have very
much money, so they should not spend enormous amounts on clothing, but the fear
of not being accepted due to out of style clothes requires said person to spend
too much money on their clothes. The fear spoken of is derivative of the
person’s beliefs, holding them to abide by the cultural norms, in this case
purchasing over priced clothing. The prisoners are gazing at shadows on the
wall, until he or she breaks free. To break free in this world, you must look
at objects, individuals, cities and societies, even the universe as a whole,
with reason. Do not simply rely on perceptions and senses to grasp concepts.
People carrying figures of humans, animals, and plants crafted from wood or
stone, cast images on the wall for the prisoners to gawk at. These people are
the political, business, and educational leaders that feed the average person
their own ideologies, beliefs about various things. These individuals are in
today’s society, people like George Bush, the President. He makes decisions for
us, and tells us what to believe on certain subjects. After the attack on our
country, he decided to send to troops in and attack Afghanistan. In this
particular example, the President’s beliefs may be correct, however, that is
not a relevant fact. What is relevant, though, is that in questioning his
decision, I have now formulated my own opinion and belief on the subject, thus
not simply buying into the views and beliefs being fed to me.
A roadway is described as being behind the prisoners, and it is this roadway
that the men walked on when carrying the figures. This roadway depicts the path
used to deliver whatever message it is that the leaders previously mentioned
want delivered. The Internet and television both are very profitable sources
for these men. If someone hears on the news that there was a war going on in
the Middle East, than they would believe it. Without ever personally viewing
the war, and having no proven facts, only the television, most people would
believe it.
Above and behind the prisoners is a fire burning, the power source of the
shadows. This is any institution supporting the men who deceive us. The
government is supporting George Bush, and other politicians; it is the source
of the ideas that are pushed upon us.
The shadows on the wall are what the prisoners mistake for truth, reality, here
in this world it is the actual ideas that the men advance on us. Going to war
is a shadow we mistake for truth, and justice. Are we truly just in reacting
with the actions we did, is “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” still relevant
today? Most don’t question this; they instead accept it as it is given to them.
Plato describes the Good as having power, energy, just as the sun has the power
to warm our skin. He sees the Good as the source of beauty, right, reason, and
truth. The Good is courage and strength, values that provide dependable ground
for moral conduct. In this world of shadows, the Good we experience is too a
shadow of the true Good. We must break free from the chains of this world to
experience the true ideals of the Good.
Plato’s cave is an allegory of the human condition: each of us a prisoner,
until we can break free. We perceive reality through imperfect eyes, accepting
this distorted illusion of reality without question. Accordingly, to break
free, we must open our eyes and see the truth about the world around us. The
truth is that we are prisoners of our own beliefs. The major elements Plato
uses to tell the Allegory of the Cave can be represented in today’s
civilization.