Need help with philosophy mid term paper, I chose Plato's republic allegory of cave?

Question

If anyone knows the allegory of cave by plato, give your opinion on what it means. Any compareisons to any other theory?

Theory of recolection could be tied into allegory of cave to bulk paper up? I am a nursing major, this is not my cup of tea :)

Answer 1

The allegory of the cave is just a story that symbolizes how everything we perceive is imperfect compared to the real source of the object. The only way to break free from being a prisoner of this small world is through wisdom and the search for absolute truth that is not relative or wavering.
In the story the men were stuck in a position where all they could see were shadows moving across the wall. The prisoners could not move or turn their heads, therefore they could not see that the source of the shadows were artifacts, and the source of the movement was the people carrying the artifacts, and the source of the shadows was the fire behind the artifacts. The problem for the prisoners and for human beings in general is that they don't want to see the reality of things. It is often uncomfortable for people to gain wisdom. On in the case of the cave, it would be terribly uncomfortable for a prisoner to leave the cave and see the sun...if given the choice most prisoners would say prisoners.

Plato would say, 'how do we know what a makes a chair, when there are so many chairs in the world?' The answer is, before any of us existed we were "one" in a sense, with the essence of chair. We existed in a world of truth, and everything we learn today, all the labels, are nothing more than us recalling all the things we already know from our existence in the world of forms. There is no learning only relearning or remembering. To the prisoners the shadows were as real to them as a chair or a rose is to us. However human beings were blessed with reason, therefore we can strive to see past our perception to what is the essence of all these things. The source. Being able to understand the essence is the ultimate goal, because it gives people something on which they can base their moral judgment. Plato often refers to the sun being the ultimate source of good (wisdom, love, beauty, truth)...which is comparable to monotheistic religions and God.

Plato’s theory is an example of ethical absolutism. Another example of ethical absolutism is Christianity. Both of these theories are based on the fact that there is an absolute truth in which ALL people can base their decisions on. The key element that makes up an absolutist theory the basis for all right action (truth, wisdom, love, ect.) is 1)universal, 2)unchanging, 3)unconditioning, and 4)unconditional. It is sometimes easier to understand Plato when you compare him to other absolutist ethical theories.

Damn that’s long. Hope you can finish it.

-you've obviously been taking philosophy so you know this could go on for pages... I hope I helped, I'm also a philosophy student. If you need some more help email me. It's always easier to learn theories by talkin about them as apposed to reading...Good Luck!