...In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato presents his abstract view of human nature and truth, whereas Douglass presents his personal journal in “Learning to Read and Write.” Compare and contrast Plato and Douglass' essays and ideas. How might Douglass view Plato's allegory based on his experience? The most basic question that we can ask ourselves is: who and what am I? Moreover, the answer to this question about human nature (what a human being is) will greatly affect how we see ourselves. In Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”, he managed to let us visualize people living in a big cave, where these people were chained by the leg and by the neck and they couldn’t move. They can only see what is in front of them. He explains to us how the “The Allegory of the Cave” is the education of the soul toward enlightenment. According to Plato, the chains that bind the prisoners are the senses and the prisoners symbolize ignorant people, the raised wall symbolizes the limitation of our thinking. The idea of Plato’s essay describes how most people are trapped in their own world, unaware of what is happening around them. According to Plato the “The Allegory of the Cave” is the common man and it represents all people before they are fully educated. The common person sees nothing but the shadows on the wall of the cave. In Plato’s essay, the fire has a significant meaning to the common man; it is the source of light and the only reality he can see as it sheds light into the cave. Then comes...
Words: 666 - Pages: 3
...Thinking as a Hobby vs The Allegory of the Cave Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” was one of the most important allegories of philosophical thought. The first theory of knowledge was Plato. He believed that knowledge was more than just wants in front of you or even what you see but something much greater. He believed there is a reason behind everything and that is part of how you achieve a huge part of knowledge. As for William Golding, he seems to expand on the point of a thought and how thinking is knowledge and power. This comes from his essay “Thinking as a Hobby”. Out of these essays, understand that there is a difference between the act of thinking and thinking itself. It destroys the idea of agreement for one to understand and come to the fact of enlightenment and true reality. The idea behind this all is that Plato has a descriptive idea of the cave, and Golding narrates an idea that matches enlighten or the unenlightened....
Words: 1406 - Pages: 6
...●FishBowl 2 on Plato, Coates, and Gregory Rodriguez Answer the JHW questions due today and also complete the following: What happens when a prisoner is released from the den and “compelled to look straight at the light?” What does the prisoner see when he is returns to the cave? What does he then feel about reality? What happens when a prisoner is released from the den and “compelled to look straight at the light?” What does the prisoner see when he returns to the cave? What does he then feel about reality? When the prisoner leaves the cave and looks straight into the light, he is left blind by the extreme brightness of it. However, after a while, he gets accustomed to the light, and he realizes that the world of shadows in which he had lived his whole life was a mere imitation of reality. Consequently, when he returned to the cave, he has not used to the darkness anymore and his peers...
Words: 1402 - Pages: 6
...learning the ropes of grammatical writing. I was sadly mistaken. Through the semester Josh gave the class five writing assignments. They ranged from three to five pages long. Out of all the writing assignments I received my favorite was a four page paper I had to write an allegory of myself. My least favorite was a five page paper the whole class had to write. About mid semester, when my hand only had a tingle, Josh lectured about Plato’s “A Allegory of the Cave.” Thus giving me my next challenging task he had in store. I had to compose an allegory of myself while explaining the concept of the Plato’s allegory. I had to dissect the symbolism in Plato’s allegory and prove how it coincided with my own allegory. What made this objective so interesting, yet so strenuous was the fact that my allegory had to be based upon a difficult time I have had in my life. My essay was littered with very detailed descriptors of my dreadful situation and Plato’s allegory. That is why this particular essay was my favorite. I8 was able to take a seemingly arduous task and break it down, in my own words, so that a reader would be able to comprehend “The Allegory of the Cave,” and still be able to relate to my allegory. The last essay due came just before my hand fell off. Before the class took our final exam we were obligated to write a five page paper as a whole. Josh told us we had to accomplish the task without his assistance. We, as an alliance, had to choose a topic in which to write about. We...
Words: 611 - Pages: 3
...Tina Bai Knowledge, Reality, Self Professor Georg Theiner 10/1/12 The Implication of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” In The Republic, Plato reveals the overwhelming ignorance of humanity through the allegory of the cave. Plato summarizes his viewpoint of society as a whole through this allegory, portraying the human race as imprisoned in the chains of oblivion, unaware of its own inhibited perspective. A more contemporary philosopher, Umberto Eco, also criticized the state of society in a similar fashion in Travels in Hyperrreality; describing the overwhelming trend of “horror vacui.” The allegory of the cave reveals the importance of education in the journey towards enlightenment-only through instruction can individuals recall the inherent knowledge of the Forms. The significance of the allegory is rooted in Plato’s belief that there exist inherent truths hidden under the superficial surface of society that only enlightened individuals can uncover through education. Plato’s allegory of the cave follows as thus: A cluster of prisoners, having been enclosed in a cave since birth, has never laid eyes on any kind of daylight. Furthermore, these individuals are prevented from turning their heads to look to either side by their bonds, and can consequently only envision what lies straight ahead. Lying posterior to the shackled prisoners is a fire which is subsequently anterior to a wall. A collection of statues sojourn on the top of the wall and are manipulated by a separate...
Words: 1935 - Pages: 8
...The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. He sees it as what happens when someone is educated to the level of philosopher. He contends that they must "go back into the cave" or return to the everyday world of politics, greed and power struggles. The Allegory also 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, just 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 soul's ascent to knowledge or enlightenment. He equated our world of sight with the intellect's world of opinion. Both were at the bottom of the ladder of knowledge. Our world of sight allows us to "see" things that are not real, such as parallel 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...
Words: 4812 - Pages: 20
...The Allegory of The Cave’ by Plato – The Meaning The Allegory of the cave by Plato should not be taken at face value. In essays and exams, whoever is marking it expects you to have a deeper understanding of the meaning of the theory. You can then use these to think about criticisms and then to form your own opinion. The Cave •In Plato’s theory, the cave represents people who believe that knowledge comes from what we see and hear in the world – empirical evidence. The cave shows that believers of empirical knowledge are trapped in a ‘cave’ of misunderstanding. The Shadows •The Shadows represent the perceptions of those who believe empirical evidence ensures knowledge. If you believe that what you see should be taken as truth, then you are merely seeing a shadow of the truth. In Plato’s opinion you are a ‘pleb’ if you believe this (their insult for those who are not Philosophers)! The Game •The Game represents how people believe that one person can be a ‘master’ when they have knowledge of the empirical world. Plato is demonstrating that this master does not actually know any truth, and suggesting that it is ridiculous to admire someone like this. The Escape •The escaped prisoner represents the Philosopher, who seeks knowledge outside of the cave and outside of the senses. •The Sun represents philosophical truth and knowledge •His intellectual journey represents a philosophers journey when finding truth and wisdom The Return •The other prisoners reaction...
Words: 266 - Pages: 2
...Jeanette Sampson Professor Scheck Phil 201 February 18th, 2016 Essay There are many similarities to be found between the Matrix movie and the writings of Pluto. Both deal with the way in which we all see the reality in which we live. Is it real? Is it false? How do we know that our minds and our eyes are not deceiving us? These stories give us a glimpse of something that may be true, something that we may have not even realized. They bring to life the possibility that we may be living a false reality. In the synopsis for the Matrix, a man named Neo begins to feel as though something is wrong with his life. When he meets Morpheus and accepts the red pill that he is given, he begins to see that the world he knows is nothing but an illusion. A cleverly put together scenario in which the human race lies unconscious in giant machines meant to keep them alive while the cables connected to their brains play out a simulated false reality. Pluto’s Allegory of The Cave conveys a similar message. His scenario describes men who have spent their whole lives chained at the neck and legs inside of a cave, only able to look forward, never being able to turn their heads in any other direction. Men chained to a false reality would be the common theme between these two stories. The cables connected to the giant machines in the Matrix are the modern day neck and leg chains of Plato’s The Cave. The characters in each story are taught to only see their world from one view. Of course they...
Words: 1006 - Pages: 5
...Anh Nguyen PHI 111-112 Assignment #2 Essay 1: What is your belief about ultimate reality? In this position paper, the worldview that I find the most persuasive is metaphysical naturalism. I realized that I am a naturalist that believes the nature is all that exist. Therefore, that all things supernatural (including God, spirits, souls and non-natural values) do not exist. Naturalists hold that all minds, the contents, powers, and effect of minds that are entirely constructed from or caused by natural phenomena. Following to argument from physical minds, scientists have many evidences that the human mind is a product of a functioning brain, which is entirely constructed from different interacting physical systems that evolved over time through the animal kingdom. In addition, mental and physical have a close relationship, so it means there is no mental happens that does not go with physical. Therefore, it is impossible to say that there are some souls and God exist. And, this argument is what we would expect if naturalism is true. According to argument from history of science, there is a single theme unifying the history of science, it is that naturalistic (non-supernatural) explanation work. The history of science has many examples of naturalistic explanations; however, there is no example’s supernatural explanations about naturalistic. Luckily, the naturalistic explanation is so successful that even these explanations also make scientific theists have to accept. Therefore...
Words: 1876 - Pages: 8
...Essay PHIL 201 July 7, 2014 Essay After reading these pieces I concluded that the central theme is being awaken from a false reality but each piece differs in the action that follow the awakening. The Matrix is set in a futuristic setting, where the theory of being controlled by a massive computer is a real possibility. What I find most interesting is that Plato actually describes the concept of The Matrix, almost as if Plato’s dialogue was used an inspiration. In The Matrix and Plato’s dialogue, humans are not physically living the life they perceive as “real” but are stationary beings who are forced to live a false reality prescribe to them. This is where René Descartes’ excerpt differs from the previously mentioned. The person is aware of possibility that what he knows as true could be false, that how could we know if what we are living is done consciously or if our existence is but a dream. All of the excerpts also rely on the reasoning that the mind is the sole contributor of our existence and our physical senses only respond to what the mind knows. The differences in the readings is based on the actions or possible outcomes that occur once the awakening has taken place. In The Matrix, Neo decides to act and decides to embark on a journey to discover reality not being controlled by a computer. Plato’s dialogue is different because this is based on a hypothetically theory, so while there is no physically action the questions lies in how would people respond to...
Words: 710 - Pages: 3
...PHILOSOPHY ESSAY PHIL 201 JUNE 9, 2015 BRITTANY MICHELLE HUGGINS LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ONLINE In this life sometimes we dream so clearly, that is it hard to distinguish what was real, and what was not. Sometimes we dream of things that could not possibly happen. But then sometimes we dream of a love one who has passed on before us, or dream about something that could be happening in real life. It takes us to another place. How do we know that what we believe to be real life is not a dream? In the movie, The Matrix Mr. Anderson, a computer programmer/hacker also known as Neo questions if the life he lives is real, or if they are all being programmed somewhere by a machine. Neo meets Morpheus who shows him that people are under a computer program called The Matrix. Cypher has been shown this as well but tries to forget what he has seen and move on with his life. This task is not so easy. We see also in “The Allegory of the Cave” that the task to forget what you have seen, and lived for so long is a lie. Socrates presents to Glaucon a scenario of men who could only see shadows and that what they saw was their life. Just like in The Matrix, people believed that their day to day life, was all there was, and all that was happening. The men in the scenario think that it is their only reality, just as the people in The Matrix. Then one day in Plato’s excerpt, one man see’s real like just like, Neo. At first it id hard to believe. Then you start to think that, that...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...Leroy states that the shoes are in his possession. She is determined to get them back. Rhoda takes matches while Christine remains ignorant that Rhoda has placed the matches back not realizing Rhoda is planning to burn Leroy alive. After Leroy is found dead in front of Christine’s window, Christine cannot believe her eyes that she has let Rhoda gone too far. Christine is in the cave not realizing that her daughter could kill again. Plato argues that, “And suppose once more, he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he is forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be painted and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities.” (869). Christine, representing “he” in the quote, Christine sees clearly who her daughter is, with no questions. Here, she shows Rhoda that she does not want to be dragged into her schemes any...
Words: 1477 - Pages: 6
...MODULE 5 – G2 – ESSAY DEGREE PROGRAM THEOLOGY/TURABIAN PRESENTED TO PROFESSOR DR. GREG SCHNEEBERGER FOR PHIL 201 – D09 BY REV. JOSEPH T. WHITAKER, III LU23755920 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY LYNCHBURG, VA SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 2 Question One Compare and contrast The Matrix with the readings from Plato and Descartes. What are some similarities and differences? The Matrix describes a fictitious possibility of a virtual existence of the world and especially the world’s human population, unbeknownst by the majority of people involved in the virtual reality known as the Matrix. Certain players in the Matrix scenario are awakened to the proposition that perhaps their life experience is an orchestrated delusion, set into motion by certain governing powers, in an attempt to obtain and maintain absolute control upon the masses. An important character in the Matrix named, Morpheus, brings the deceptive virtual reality to the attention of other participants in the Matrix, in an effort to help awaken them to the real truth of their existence. It is discovered that rather than the daily life experience and existence of the population of the world, the people are actually unconscious of the absolute reality that they are all in a clinical state of suspended animation. This virtual reality of the...
Words: 934 - Pages: 4
...Week 5 Essay After reading the three readings, I can see some similarity and differences between the readings from the philosophers. Comparing the Matrix and Plato’s, the similarity is they both agree that the life we are experiencing is not as real as what it appears to be. It is simply an illusion and a life that we can question and doubt about. From Matrix’s story this happens when Neo ‘the hacker’ had a dream that made him think about the reality and the thought that there is something more to life. When Morpheus came and told him “that the world is an illusion, an elaborate system of deception perpetrated to keep people contentedly under control” (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). Neo then choose to eat the pill and see the truth that the human race is only relying on a machine to keep their bodies alive. Human beings are actually unconscious, therefore they are controlled by the machine. Because of this, what we see or do today happens because we are programmed into a computer simulation called Matrix. From Plato’s allegory, we see it when Socrates described men’s nature being as prisoners since childhood; being chained inside a cavern not being able to move their heads, but only looking. When one of the prisoners was released and was given the opportunity to see the light; and guided with what was going on. The human being that has seen the light will think what “he had seen before was all a cheat and an illusion. He will then want to turn toward real things”...
Words: 809 - Pages: 4
...Chengkai Zhang Professor: Michael Harper English 1C 21 May 2013 Critical Thinking Is Understanding “Which form of human thinking is preferable: knowledge or understanding?” In order to examine this question, a close look at the concepts of knowledge and understanding must take place. The first task is to define the two parts of thinking, both knowledge and understanding. In the simplest terms, knowledge is facts and understanding is meaning that is given to those facts. However, there is objectivity and subjectivity to consider in relation to both knowledge and understanding. First, knowledge can be considered more objective because it is raw facts, and not subject to a person’s interpretation of facts or what the knowledge “means.” This is because what the knowledge “means” will be different for different people. In other words, understanding is subjective because it is based on a person’s unique human emotions, opinions and judgments. This is how understanding is interpreted for the person, and how raw knowledge is turned into something more meaningful for the person who learns a new fact. It can be argued that understanding will always require some level of subjectivity. What this means is a fact can not be fully “understood” unless it is put through the filter of a person’s own experience. This is naturally a subjective process. However, without knowledge, understanding could not occur. It is clear that both types...
Words: 1646 - Pages: 7
