Plato, The Allegory of the Cave

Keith Croshaw

Plato, "The Allegory of the Cave"

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” Socrates points out very interesting points about how we create our own realities deep within our subconscious based on what we are presented with, i.e. the media. Another thing that is very interesting in this piece is Socrates mention of a god like figure who is the creator of all, one of the first signs of his monotheistic views for which he was ultimately put to death for. Socrates continues to talk about how the prisoner would almost become jaded and wish they had never left the cave, the idea makes me think of a poor farmer getting a job in the big city, taking it all in and loving it, then almost getting sick of it all.

Socrates creates very interesting questions as to how we define our world and really makes us question our own vision. When he proposes the wall that is displayed in front of the prisoners we all obviously know that he speaks of a hypothetical situation, but the way he gets us to really apply it to our own state of being and knowing is profound. The story telling that Plato does also helps the reader really put themselves in the hypothetical shoes, or shackles if you will. It is also interesting when the prisoner is portrayed returning to the cave. He is as expected no longer accustomed to their way of seeing things, which points out our ability as humans to adapt to new environment over time.