The Allegory of the Cave Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Allegory of the Cave - Assignment Example As the paper outlines, there are three major different scenes and each of the scenes when observed from a contemporary day view portrays the human mind in relation to changes. It is important to break down the analogy to gain an in-depth understanding of the philosopher’s views and get enlightened on various issues. In the analogy, there is both the literal and the inner meaning of the information provided. The allegory discusses a situation in the first scene where there are people seated in a cave staring into an empty wall. Behind them is a huge fire and in between the fire and the people is a pathway through which many people use. The people do not have the ability to see the people passing but can see the shadows formed on the wall (Soccio 134). According to the people seated in the cave, the images are real and nothing whatsoever can change their minds. This is set to imply knowledge in the contemporary environment. Over the years, people have had a difference in access to education. There are those that have had the opportunity to attend decent schools and have had a good education while there are those who have got as far as a certain grade. The images portrayed on the wall are just but illusions and not the reality and this is as far as the people seated in the cave understand. They represent the few that never completed education and thus their knowledge only gets so far. In the allegory, he explains that the extent to which people are enlightened determines a lot on the day-to-day choices that people make and consequently affects their general life. According to Plato, most human beings tend to remain content with everything that they understand and do not have the urge to gain more understanding of the contemporary environment. The amount of knowledge is necessary for people to gain a perspective of social and political systems. If people only understand the general senses of touch and sight but do not possess further knowledge, they would ne ver understand the system in terms of justice and the concept of love that would make the world more habitable.