Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave by Plato :: Philosophy Plato

An Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave by PlatoThe Allegory of the Cave is Platos explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. He sees it as what happens when soul is educated to the level of philosopher. He contends that they must go back into the cave or return to the everyday macrocosm of politics, greed and power struggles. The Allegory as well attacks people who rely upon or are slaves to their senses. The chains that bind the prisoners are the senses. The fun of the allegory is to try to put all the details of the cave into your interpretation. In other words, what are the models the guards carry? the fire? the struggle out of the cave? the sunlight? the shadows on the cave wall? Socrates, in Book VII of The Republic, near after the allegory told us that the cave was our world and the fire was our sun. He said the path of the prisoner was our souls ascent to knowledge or enlightenment. He equated our world of sight with the intellects world of opinion. Bo th were at the bottom of the ladder of knowledge. Our world of sight allows us to see things that are not real, such as double lines and perfect circles. He calls this higher understanding the world abstract Reality or the Intelligeble world. He equates this abstract reality with the knowledge that comes from reasoning and finally understanding. On the physical side, our world of sight, the stages of growth are first recognition of images (the shadows on the cave wall) then the recognition of objects (the models the guards carry) To understand abstract reality requires the understanding of math and finally the forms or the Ideals of all things (the world outside the cave). But our understanding of the physical world is mirrored in our minds by our ways of thinking. First comes caprice (Socrates thought little of creativity), then our unfounded but real beliefs. Opinion gives way to knowledge through reasoning (learned though mathematics). Finally, the realization of the forms is mirrored by the level of Understanding in the Ways of Thinking. The key to the struggle for knowledge is the reasoning skills acquired through mathematics as they are applied to understanding ourselves. The shadows on the cave wall change continually and are of little worth, but the reality out side the cave never changes and that makes it important.