Plato's "Allegory of the Cave"

Essay # 58888

Philosophy > Ancient Greek

A description of "The Allegory of the Cave," by the Greek philosopher, Plato, as well as an interpretation.

913 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

In Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave," this ancient Greek philosopher describes what he believes is the true nature of reality and the average unenlightened person's perception of this reality. This paper presents an overview of the allegory and an interpretation as the author of the paper understands it.

From the Paper:

"With this simile Plato describes his basic philosophy. The world, objects, and ideas people physically come into contact with are only representations, or shadows, of the real unchanging true form of that object that can not be seen with the eyes, heard with the ears, or thought about in physical terms. The forms in which we come in to contact only have their form because of their relationship with the true form. To accept these changing and imperfect things as real is naive and ignorant, like those stuck inside of the cave. The only way one can know true reality of these unreal changing forms is to seek the real unchanging form through questioning, thought, and reason. In doing this one can come to know the good and gain an understanding of the non-physical world."