Response To The Allegory Of The Cave

Alexander Mendez

Dr. James Kirk

PHIL-1301-S13

15 September 2015

Response Paper Two

The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, shows the contrast between sense experience and rationalism. The story explains that in the cave where some people have known nothing of the outside world and can only comprehend what they see based on what little they do know of their cave. The people have come to the conclusion what the shapes represent and what causes them and believe it to be correct and thus believe it as the reality of the world. However what they don’t know is that this is not the world and what they will soon find out is that the things they once saw with their eyes what they smelt, what they heard, what they felt were just shadows of real images and objects cast on the wall by fire. What this does is show that sense experience can be at fault because the one perceiving is at times is ignorant of the fact that they know nothing of the true reality of the world and its workings. One must be showed how things are in order to learn and thus no longer be ignorant but have now begun taking steps towards wisdom.

According to Plato reality consists of two realms.

The first realm is the Physical world that we can observe with our senses. And second, is a world made of eternal “forms” or “ideas.” He believes that there exists another dimension where perfect templates exist. This means forms are mind-independent entities. Forms are independently existent whether we grasp them with our mind but do not depend on being grasped in order to exist. In the Allegory Plato compares the level of becoming to living in a cave and describes the ordeal necessary for the soul’s ascent from shadowy illusions to enlightenment. From just an opinion to an informed opinion to rationally based knowledge to

wisdom.
The Allegory attacks people who rely upon or are slaves to their senses. Plato believes reality is superior to appearances. The Allegory has many metaphors used to show the progression of ones accent to understanding. Those chained to the wall of shadows are imprisoned in a world of illusion and imagination. The ones loose in the cave represent the world of perception and informed opinion. Those who are struggling out of the cave are acquiring knowledge through reason. The world outside the cave is the highest level of reality directly grasped by intelligence. The shadows on the cave wall will always change thus making sense experience wavering and never constant, but the reality outside the cave never changes.
Many of the Sophist would confuse opinion with knowledge but Plato believed that it was better to be more informed by reason, logic, and mathematics. So that one would be able to make a more informed opinion or even as far as to state something that could be factual rather than what one has experienced or heard from others.
The hesitation I believe would come from the idea that if one is comfortable in the cave and with what one knows then it would be unwise for them to seek more if it would tear at what they like and believe. The saying “ignorance is bliss” fits here I believe because if the man should step out and discover something worse than what he has experienced already it may prove harming or more stressful. However I know that I would go out. I like to know things even if it is bad for me to know them because it sometimes gives me more of an opportunity to control an instant of where things will be heading. And at other times I have learned things I have no control over but feel better knowing so that later down the road I will not be shocked or I will have prepared more to lessen the impact of whatever it may be. I like to know and sure it hurts sometimes but I don’t care for some reason I can’t entirely think why right now but I will continue to think about it.