What do the prisoners represent in the allegory of the cave quizlet?

The prisoners symbolize those of a sensible world unwilling to see or face reality. In their ignorance the prisoners hide away in the cave, unaware of the transcendent world. The cave symbolizes ignorance, where everyone begins without exception. The cave also represents misunderstanding and distraction.

Why are the prisoners like us allegory of the cave?

In the ‘Allegory of the Cave’, Socrates clearly refers to human beings and the context of life that has placed individuals as prisoners in different ways, the most prominent one, and the one Socrates had in mind being lack of knowledge.

What represent the freed prisoner?

The freed prisoner represents those in society who see the physical world for the illusion that it is. The sun that is glaring the eyes of the prisoners represents the real truth of the actual world.

What do the prisoners in the cave believe is real?

When a person lives with an illusion their whole life, it comes to a point that it becomes their reality, as the prisoners in the cave they had being chained since childhood so their reality are their own shadow. That happens in life as well, we become so stuck into our illusion that we believe it is true.

What does fire symbolize in allegory of the cave?

The fire is a false light: it represents the senses, such as sound and hearing, which deceive us. We cannot learn the true reality of things through the senses (the fire) because all it does is deceive us that shadows are reality. Socrates envisions one of the people chained in cave dragged up into the sunlight.

What do you see as the symbolism of 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.

What does Plato’s allegory of the cave teach us about the truth?

So, the teacher in the allegory of the cave guided the prisoner from the darkness and into the light (light represents truth); education involves seeing the truth. Plato believed that you have to desire to learn new things; if people do not desire to learn what is true, then you cannot force them to learn.

What is the truth based on the allegory of the cave?

The chains that prevent the prisoners from leaving the cave represent that they are trapped in ignorance, as the chains are stopping them from learning the truth. The shadows cast on the walls of the cave represent the superficial truth, which is the illusion that the prisoners see in the cave.

What are the only things the prisoners can see?

The prisoners cannot see any of what is happening behind them, they are only able to see the shadows cast upon the cave wall in front of them. The sounds of the people talking echo off the walls, and the prisoners believe these sounds come from the shadows (514c).

What does the cave represent?

The cave is thought to be closely related to the symbolic HEART, and is often a place where the self and ego unite. They can be secret passageways to an underworld, places in which to make contact with the powers and forces which will eventually make their way into the world of light.

What does the cave represent in the Allegory of the cave?

The cave represents superficial physical reality. The chains that prevent the prisoners from leaving the cave represent that they are trapped in ignorance, as the chains are stopping them from learning the truth. what does the game represent in the allegory of the cave?

Why are the prisoners blinded in the cave?

This prisoner would believe the outside world is so much more real than that in the cave. He would try to return to free the other prisoners. Upon his return, he is blinded because his eyes are not accustomed to actual sunlight. The chained prisoners would see this blindness and believe they will be harmed if they try to leave the cave.

What was behind the fire in Plato’s cave?

Behind the prisoners is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners are people carrying puppets or other objects. This casts a shadow on the other side of the wall. The prisoners watch these shadows, believing them to be real. Plato posits that one prisoner could become free.

What are the symbols of the dark cave?

The dark cave symbolically suggests the contemporary world of ignorance and the chained people symbolize ignorant people in this ignorant world. The raised wall symbolizes the limitation of our thinking and the shadow symbolically suggest the world of sensory perception which Plato considers an illusion.