Allegory of the Cave

By: Plato

The innocent will know there true-self and improve their ability but the educated will be
ignorant. Plato claimed that I order to have real knowledge, we must gain through
philosophical reasoning. A philosophical reasoning can let us think more, learn more, and
analyse wider than what we thought.

Allegory of the cave become the republic book of Plato where in it tackles about the effect of
education and the ignorance of the people. Allegory of the cave was written as a dialogue of
Plato’s brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates.

This how the story goes, imagine you where lock up in your room for years and was not able
to go outside. No window was provided, all are dark , and the only thing light up the room to
be able to see the others is the fire burning in the center. The object inside the room was
projected in the blank wall, the voices that you were hearing and the figures you were seeing
is all that they have in that empty dark room, just like what the prisoners have gone through
inside the cave. The voices, the objects and light you were seeing is the only thing you
believe in your entire life but then there comes the time you were able to go out in that room.
Shock, was the first thing you will feel, in all the time you were conscious there this world
outside you that was beyond in what you have seen in the shadow in the wall.

Just what this country have been through, innocent people were able to find themselves even
thought they were from the dark and they have been true to much phobia and trauma they
cope-up themself. But the educated people are the who let those people to belittled and to put
them down, they become ignorant in the outside world they are self-centered people. It’s not
every rich people are like that in this country, but the one who have power let the unfortunate
to suffer under there control. The a damance and obstinacy are that of a madman, desperately
holding onto what he believe as truth. In others words, according to a writer “Reality only
exists within our mind. Outside our skull, nothing truly subsist. Our perceptions—that is
reality”. Like a fake news it is, you can’t say that Corona Virus was in our Municipality with
out the Provincial DOH official presentation or with out the declaration. Nor you can’t say
that he is the one who stole your money and you don’t have evidence yet you let him suffer in
the offense he didn’t do. Remember the victim Mark Angelo in the war on drugs that was
implemented, people easily judge the teenager by merely looking at him without knowing it’s
background. The fallacy of our life have been fallen that we see the person partially not even
trying to see beyond. There uneducated minds feel comforted by the lies and think them to be
real.

Okay so another one, the shadow, why would I put this shadow when it just a mere shadow?

Well, the shadow according to Plato in the allegory of the cave shadow is the object that was
reflected in the wall wherein they believe, that the shadow shows the true realm of life .
Analyse it intently, why would Plato describe that the shadow shows them the realm of life?
It was simple the fire reflect the object in the wall and that reflection is the shadow, to make it
more clearer the shadow tells as that no matter what we are we can’t never be alone for there
will be someone who will be at our side to catch us when we can’t do it by ourself, that was
the primarily and good description of the shadow. Secondary description would be the
shadow represent the people who became the one to be madman who has the power, he then
follow him.They where like a dog who are lock up in a chain.

Chained in the dark! Chain that almost coke them to death!

People are where lock-up in there own decision, they stayed in there dream that let them stay
in where they are. Today’s generation had change but the mind or the elder stayed in their
generation. They can’t accept the changes that they witnessed nowadays, for they see the
changes as the bad one and not appreciating what the real intent of this changes. For this, I
can say that the chain clamp was to tight and they can’t remove it by there own. They need
remedies and support from the others to make them realize that they can do this. But our
society pull each other down from where they are instead of helping them move up. There for
the Philippine society can’t rose or improve together for they compete from each other. Also,
Socrates is stating that the prisoner who are chained does not want to progress in the way he
see things, and his understanding to reality. However, if we can see the real intent of this
changes or improvement, reluctantly and with great difficulty we can do progress out of our
own chain and cave, for that reason there is room for change. Plato uses the firelight as a
metaphor for understanding , and the ability to see the truth. As we improve, we can see the
progressed past of the realm of the light in the dark but now we can face the realm of the
sunlight. The easiest thing we can see as we freed our life from the past is the shadows, the
realm of truth that can make us realize that what we see and what we hear is not enough to
believe to be true.
From the story Socrates is like a treat to them, a dangerous treat for he goes back to tell them
the truth but then the people in the cave doesn’t believe them for Socrates upset them in there
beliefs. Just like what we can see trough social media that talks about corona virus that has
entered our region. But then the family member that they where talking about claimed that it
was not true that upset the people who read and receive the message, to whom to believe and
whom to follow. Also the message that we believe in the past can change as the generation
continue to progress and the message has tendency to be fake. Even how we perceive the
people to believe the truth only but when they believe in what we first heard see if they kept
there proud high as the mountain we can’t push them to believe it easily, wait for the right
time. The light is the key to enlightenment that make as realize for our ignorance. However,
the others who stay in the past do not want to be free for they are comfortable in their own
ignorance, and they are hostile to the people who gave them more informations. Therefore,
Plato had pointed out that “your philosophical journey sometimes may lead your thinking in
directions that the society does not support”. The words of Plato was real for we can see now
in the hands of our very own president Duterte. It is hard for as to believe the real score of
our President in letting the PDEA and PNP do the war on drugs or the “shoot-to-kill”
program. But later on the more he push this program the more it lessen-up the drug lords of
this country.

According to Ronald Nash, “like the prisoner chained in the cave, each human being
perceives a physical world that is but a poor imitation of a more real world. But every so
often, one of the prisoners gets free from the shackles of sense experience, turns around, and
sees the light”. And that hits me, Plato uses the cave to symbolise a physical world; a world
in which things are not always what they seem to be, and there is a lot more to it than people
there is. Our senses are only picking-up shadows of the true reality, the reality of forms and
ideas. This reality can only be accurately discerned through reason, not the physical senses.

The process of progressing out of the past is getting educated and a difficult process; in fact it
requires assistance and sometimes force. Look! We believe that being graduate in high
School level is enough because later n we will end up working. There is a big difference in
that case the more we educate our mind our ignorance it gives a big chance for us to have a
better governance to done. This governance can lift us to have a better future, we can’t not
just depend into other countries help. Yes, it is indeed that we can’t improve without there
help but then we need to stand with our own feet. Truth hurts a lot, accepting our fate is better
to have.