Ikediego Amuche
English 1101
Elaine Knight
October 9, 2011
Contrasting The allegory of The Cave to Todays Educational System
Knowledge is power, my mom told me if I acquired knowledge in life I would command respect, I would view life differently most importantly I would be able to control my destiny. The president of The greatest country in the world, United States of American was voted in as a president in 2008 because he had great knowledge and his knowledge did command respect. The allegory of the cave was presented by a Greek philosopher Plato in his work the republican in order to compare the effect of education and the lack of it on our nation. “And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened” (Plato 1). Plato tried to explain the nature of reality during his time.
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The allegory of the cave and todays modern education focuses on education, the resources, and the truth. Through education, the truth, and the resources provide, I would be able to differentiate the differences between the Allegory of the Cave to modern education. Education is the true light. With education ones potential or abilities in life are certainly increased and it is vice versa without education. In the Allegory of the cave, Plato stated “here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move…” (1). Plato illustrated the fact that this group of people has no form of education and thus they live in a world of total obscurity. Before the introduction of education in my birth country, Nigerian a lot of people were bound in chains just like the people in the allegory of the cave. For example, the Igbos in Nigeria had a believe that any born twin babies are a taboo and should be killed, and so all born twin babies were killed during that time. A.A.Milne once said “To the uneducated an A is just three sticks.” The people in the cave were satisfied with how they were being treated because they had no form of education, whereas modern education has brought so much light and freedom in the way life our lives today. Woman for instants are holding great positions in our societies today because they are educated. Hillary Clinton has a great chance to become the first female president of the greatest country in the world in 2016 only because she acquired knowledge through education. We have the power to define our destiny because we have an effective educational system. As George Washington quoted “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom” (1). George knew that freedom could only be acquired through education, even if it just the basic form of it. “Speak the truth and it shall set you free”. This is a common sentence which we use in our daily life today because we now know how important it is to speak the truth. In the allegory of the cave, those who were kept in chains never knew the truth. They were fed with lies and so they lived in absolute darkness all their lives. “And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow-prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?” (3). Plato comprehended that if and only if one prisoner knew the truth, that one prisoner knew that being a slave, or being in bondage is not right that he could convey the truth to his fellow prisoners. When you know facts about something you have the ability to change whatever situation that does not benefit you. In the allegory of the cave, the prisoners suffered all their life in bondage because they knew not the truth while in our today’s education system we enjoy all freedom life gives only because we have realized what the truth is, which is women should be given equal educational opportunity as men, no man is to be a slave and so on. Galileo Galilei said “All truth are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them” (Galilei 1). Galilei acknowledges that once one realizes the truth about something only then the individual acquires great understanding. We the blacks enjoys the great privilege in our educational system today because men like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke and stood for the truth. He gave his life because he believed that only truth can set the next generation which is my generation free. When you have all the available resources you need to attain your goals in life, then your obstacles become plain before you.
In the allegory of the cave, the people had no resources to progress in life. (Behold! Human beings living in an underground den…” (1). the underground den which was mentioned in the text symbolizes restriction and the chain represents stagnation and one could only be stagnant in life if he or she has no available resources to achieve his or her goals. Those who were in bondage have an inadequate supply of live needed materials, they produce little to nothing because they had no necessary supply, but today we have satisfactory sources of what we need to become great in life in our education system. For instance, we have scholarships of different kinds which myself am a great beneficiary of it. We have financial aid and student loans which lessen the burden of tuitions off our shoulders. We have other resources like great teachers who are willing to pass their knowledge onto us. We have mentors who derive joy in mentoring us. Our present educational system is at its best only because the necessary resources needed are
present. In conclusion, the Allegory of the cave has given us an analysis of what life would have been if we did not have education, nor know the truth, nor have the available resources for better education at our disposal. Probably we might have still been under slavery just as the people were in the underground den. Modern education has given us light and a sense to view all human equal.
In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato describes the cave as very dark with chained people inside and a wall where they can only see shadow illusions, which they believe is reality. Outside the cave, there is “light” and “truth.” One chained person is released into the “light,” which is uncomfortable at first, because of how bright the “light” or “truth” is however, once he adjusts, he realizes the outer world is the “truth” or reality and the cave is a shadow of reality. He pities the ones in the cave, still lost in the darkness yet, when he tries to make them see reality, their ignorance overpowers them and they kill the enlightened one out of fear and confusion. This is the kind of society, full of puppet-handlers, the narrator Sylvia in “The Lesson” dwells in and the author, Toni Cade Bambara, depicts Sylvia as being freed from the chains of ignorant society. Bambara’s released prisoner, Miss Moore, is the one to free Sylvia and the other chained prisoners and exposes them to the “light,” which is the unequal distribution of wealth and the “truth,” which is educating youth on economic inequality so the freed prisoners can learn to change their society’s shadow of reality.
“Knowledge is power. Power to do evil...or power to do good. Power itself is not evil. So knowledge itself is not evil.” - Veronica Roth, Allegiant
Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” explains his beliefs on education of one’s soul and the core of the way they shape themselves. The rhetorical devices that Plato represents inside of his story explains how much freedom is worth in this world. The deeper meaning inside of what Plato describes can further be found out once a reader realizes the type of rhetorical devices are being used. For example, Plato portrays prisoners being locked inside of a cave without a way out. These prisoners never got to see the outside world, yet he mentions they “see shadows” which explains they are only able to catch a glimpse of reality from the outside. Plato’s use of imagery gives us a mental picture on the tease we may feel to notice reality but not be able to experience it. In reality, we do not value freedom as much as we are supposed to. We seem to not see the world as he sees it. With the help of personification, Plato uses human like characteristics to describe non-living things to give
Our knowledge is a key to our success and happiness in our life to give us personal satisfaction. Knowledge is power but not always. Sometimes our self-awareness and growth as an individual gives us negative thoughts that make us want to go back to undo it. Everyone wants to unlearn a part in our life that brought us pain and problems. Good or bad experiences brought by true wisdom can be used for our self-acceptance, self-fulfillment and these experiences would make us stronger as we walk to the road of our so called “life”, but Douglas’s and my experience about knowledge confirmed his belief that “Knowledge is a curse”. Both of us felt frustrated and sad from learning knowledge.
Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" presents a vision of humans as slaves chained in front of a fire observing the shadows of things on the cave wall in front of them. The shadows are the only "reality" the slaves know. Plato argues that there is a basic flaw in how we humans mistake our limited perceptions as reality, truth and goodness. The allegory reveals how that flaw affects our education, our spirituality and our politics.
So to say, knowledge can either make or break a person. It can act as a benefit, for power, or loss, for ignorance. “Do not take for granted what you know. Ask yourself how you know what you know; ask yourself whom it benefits, whom it hurts and why.” (Blackboard: Knowledge is Power)
In Plato’s Allegory of The Cave, prisoners are kept since child birth in a dark cave, they are only able to see nothing but shadow figures move on the wall of the cave. They perceive that as their true reality since that is all they have known all their life. A prisoner breaks free from his shackles and is blinded by the light of the sun. He realized that his reality in the cave was not real, he sees people and understands what reality is now. The prisoner goes back to explain to the others what he has seen but they don’t believe him because they believed in their own reality.
Freedom in mind, freedom in nature, and freedom in subjectivity of individual are three kinds of freedoms. However, freedom should be expressed within the limits of reason and morality. Having freedom equals having the power to think, to speak, and to act without externally imposed restrains. As a matter of fact, finding freedom in order to live free is the common idea in Plato with "The Allegory of the Cave"; Henry David Thoreau with " Where I lived and What I lived for"; and Jean Paul Sartre with " Existentialism". Generally, Plato, Thoreau, and Sartre suggested that human life should be free. They differ in what that freedom is. Plato thinks it is found in the world of intellect, Thoreau thinks freedom is found in nature, and Sartre thinks freedom is found in subjectivity of individual.
What is truly real, and what is not? This question is one which has been pondered deeply throughout human history, and it seemingly has no definitive answer. To understand what is truly a part of reality, and what isn’t, may be an impossible feat. However, two famous works created by humans from two distant time periods attempt to dissect and analyze this philosophical question. The first, The Allegory of the Cave, was written by the great Greek philosopher, Plato, who was born in 428 B.C. in Athens, Greece. The Allegory of the Cave is a piece of a larger work of Plato’s, The Republic, which is a collection of works concerning political philosophy. The Republic is his most famous work and what he is best known for in today’s world. The second
The earlier passage refers to the rigid society we are born into that has us all fixed into a common point of view that doesn’t give us much room to look at the same thing at different perspectives. The cave allegory can also apply to societies created by totalitarian systems in which only distorted information flows through with no other conflicting perspectives that may cause the people in the cave to question what they’ve seen before being able to flow through. Since we grow up being prisoners to the society we grow up in, we’re actually comfortable living in bondage in the cave and the only way to leave is voluntary. If someone gives you information that completely contradicts your perspective, or leave for college with a closed mind, just like in the allegory, the light outside the cave will compel you to flee back to ignorance because it offends your perspective, “And if someone compelled him to look at the light itself, wouldn’t his eyes hurt, and wouldn’t he turn around and flee towards the things he’s able to see” (Republic VII 515e 1-3). From what's described, someone else can’t force you out of your own ignorance and that only you can do
In general, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Krishnamurti’s essay on Conditioned Minds are relevant and compatible within todays cultural values and beliefs. After reading these two essays I came to a conclusion that it is only our choice we live in a cave and shadows, or that we are afraid of what will they say. To go out beyond the cave and experience life for real, in my opinion it is people’s choice, and most of us have a chance to choose.
In the essay “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato addresses how humans generally do not pursue knowledge. Most humans are satisfied with what they already know and do not want to expand their knowledge. Plato uses simple examples to help the reader understand his logic on why humans do not expand their knowledge.
Plato’s allegory of the cave include the light, the objects, and the shadows. The novel named “The Picture of Dorian Grey” contains a purposeful meaning for each key component. In the cave, individuals are shown the shadows of puppets which they consider their reality; however, it’s only a “fake” representation of reality. Just as Dorian Grey’s beautiful appearance was merely a “fake” copy of himself when he was pure and innocent, it never disappeared because of his immortality. Yet, when the individuals have been shown the objects, they are skeptical about the “true” reality, not knowing that they are seeing the truth behind the shadows. Similar to the picture of Dorian Grey, which portrayed his ghastly appearance, contained his true-self
Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a representation of the normal human behavior as well as the circumstances we presently encounter on a day-to-day basis. The Allegory of the Cave symbolically describes our circumstances as human beings in today’s world. Plato uses a number of key elements to depict the image of the human condition. Plato's images contain relatable ideas in regards to society that are related to my everyday life. By reading Plato I have personally begun to expand my though process and have learned not to rely solely on my senses. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave brings philosophy’s teachings to the forefront and makes it easy for us readers to understand what philosophy is trying to teach us.
The educational ideology illustrated in The Allegory of the Cave proposes teaching as a process of conversion which can bring about true enlightenment. The allegory introduces two kinds of bewilderments: one is the ascent from the primitive state to a more sophisticated state; the other the descent from the beatific vision to human affairs. We shall call one lucky if he is experiencing the former one and pity those who belong to the latter one. However whichever