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Borough of Manhattan Community College

What does it mean to be enlightened?A Discussion of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Writing Assignment, Questions, and Sample Essay By Andrew Gottlieb

The writing assignment is on page 16.

Jacques-Louis David’s famous painting The Death of Socrates, 1787, oil on canvas, 129.5cm x196.2cm (51.0 inches x772.2 inches)

The central figure in the David’s painting on the title page is Socrates, regarded by many as one of the founders of philosophy in Western civilization. He was the teacher of Plato who wrote The Republic, a siminal philosophical work including The Allegory of the Cave in which Socrates is the main character.

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Write about the following questions.

What does it mean to be enlightened? What is the difference between knowledge and enlightenment?

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What is an allegory?

An allegory is a story in which people, places and things represent ideas. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which appears at the beginning of chapter VII of one of his greatest works, The Republic, is a metaphorical representation of his idea of education. The narrative is a dialogue between Plato’s brother and Socrates, from whom Plato’s derives his ideas. Both Plato and Socrates are regarded by many as the two of the most influential philosophers in western civilization.

The Allegory of the Cave affords us a wonderful opportunity to explore some very interesting questions. Before discussing the allegory itself, I would like you to write about two of these.

1. How do we learn? Give an example to illustrate your thought. Feel free to write about yourself and your experiences.

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Watch the following video and write about it. The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato's Allegory in Clay - YouTube ▶ 3:11www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F7GhASOdMWhat are the most interesting images in the video?What do you think it’s about? Write about the prisoners? Who are they? How is the prisoner who leaves the cave different from the rest of them?

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Images and Ideas in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

In an allegory every image represents an idea. To understand Plato’s Allegory of the cave, it is important to see it in the context of his philosophy. Since an allegory is an extended metaphor, and since every image represents an idea, it is crucial that you have some understanding of the meaning underlying the images in Plato’s work. It is with this in mind that I have provided you with a brief account of the metaphorical significance of the key components in the narrative.

What is the inside of the cave?

The inside of the cave is the realm of sight. This is a realm of matter and illusion in which everything changes and decays. The reason it is called the realm of sight is that in Plato’s view one cannot arrive at truth by means of observation. Only through meditation and rigorous intellectual inquiry can one seek truth and gain understanding of the mystery of the universe.

Who are the prisoners?

The prisoners are unenlightened, people who never question their own assumptions and beliefs. They see only illusions and live in a world of falsehood and decay. For them, reality and truth are multiple. In their world, there is no single idea of truth, justice, beauty, or goodness. What becomes evident from contemplating the allegory is that the world in which we live, or more accurately, the consciousness we share, is akin to the consciousness of Plato’s cave dwellers. In many respects we too are prisoners of our assumptions, our beliefs, and our illusions.

What are the shadows?

The shadows are illusions false ideas, imperfect replicas of the people and things outside the cave.

What is the outside of the cave?

The outside of the cave is the realm of understanding, a place of pure thought and pure spirit in which all is eternal and unchanging. Since our senses bombard us with an ever fluctuating stream of perceptions, we can only hope to attain a true understanding of reality by contemplating the eternal and the divine.

Who are the people and things outside the cave?

The people and things outside the cave are the “Forms,” the perfect and unchanging models or ideas from which all understanding of reality is derived.

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Write about how it might feel to be trapped inside a cave. What would happen to your eyesight if you were there a very long time? How would your eyesight be affected if you were to leave the cave?

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The Allegory of the Caveby Plato

‘If we’re thinking about the effect of education—or the lack of it—on our nature, there’s another comparison we can make. Picture human beings living in some sort of underground cave dwelling, with an entrance which is long, as wide as the cave, and open to the light. Here they live, from earliest childhood, with their legs and necks in chains, so that they have to stay where they are, looking only ahead of them, prevented by the chains from turning their heads. They have light from a distant fire, which is burning behind them and above them. Between the fire and the prisoners, at a higher level than them, is a path along which you must picture a low wall that has been built, like the screen which hides people when they are giving a puppet show, and above which they make the puppets appear.’‘Yes, I can picture all that,’ he said.‘Picture also, along the length of the wall, people carrying all sorts of implements which project above it, and statues of people, and animals made of stone and wood and all kinds of materials. As you’d expect, some of the people carrying the objects are speaking, while others are silent.’

How are we like the prisoners? How do we limit ourselves? Give an example to illustrate your thought.

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What do the puppets, implements, statues of people, and animals represent? Keep in mind, these are all outside the cave which represents the “realm of understanding,” a region of pure thought, where all is unchanging and eternal.

‘A strange picture. And strange prisoners.’‘No more strange than us,’ I said. ‘Do you think that, for a start, that prisoners of that

sort have ever seen anything more of themselves and of one another than the shadows cast by the fire on the wall of the cave in front of them?’

‘How could they, if they had been prevented from moving their heads all their lives?’‘What about the objects which are being carried? Wouldn’t they see only shadows of

these also?”‘Yes, of course.’‘So if they were able to talk to one another, don’t you think they’d believe that the things

they were giving names to were the things they could see passing?’‘What if the prison had an echo from the wall in front of them? Every time one of the people passing by spoke, do you suppose they’d believe the source of the sound to be anything other than the passing shadow?’

‘No, that’s exactly what they would think.’‘All in all, then, what people in this situation would take for truth would be nothing more

than the shadows of the manufactured objects.’‘Necessarily.’

What do the shadows represent? Keep in mind, the shadows are inside the cave which represents what Socrates calls the “realm of sight” or illusion where everything changes and decays.

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‘Suppose nature brought this state of affairs to an end,’ I said. ‘Think what their release from their chains and the cure for their ignorance would be like. When one of them was untied, and compelled suddenly to stand up, turn his head, start walking, and look towards the light, he’d find all these things painful. Because of the glare he’d be unable to see the things whose shadows he used to see before. What do you suppose he’d say if he was told that what he used to see before was of no importance, whereas now his eyesight was better, since he was closer to what is, and looking at things which more truly are? Suppose further that each of the passing objects was pointed out to him, and that he was asked what it was, and compelled to answer. Don’t you think he’d be confused? Wouldn’t he believe the things he saw before to be more true than what was being pointed out to him now?

‘Yes, he would. Much more true.’‘If he was forced to look at the light itself, wouldn’t it hurt his eyes? Wouldn’t he turn

away, and run back to the things he could see? Wouldn’t he think those things really were clearer than what was being pointed out?’

‘Yes,’ he said.‘And if he was dragged out of there by force, up the steep and difficult path, with no

pause until he had been dragged right out into the sunlight, wouldn’t he find this dragging painful? Wouldn’t he resent it? And when he came into the light, with his eyes filled with the glare, would he be able to see a single one of the things he is now told are true?’

‘No, he wouldn’t. Not at first.’‘He’d need to acclimatize himself, I imagine, if he were going to see things up there. To start with, he’d find shadows the easiest things to look at. After that, reflections—of people and other things—in water. The things themselves would come later, and from those he would move on to the heavenly bodies and the heavens themselves. He’d find it easier to look at the light of the stars and the moon by night than look at the sun and the light of the sun, by day.’

‘Of course.’‘The last thing he’d be able to look at, presumably, would be the sun. Not its image, in

water or some location that is not its own, but the sun itself. He’d be able to look at it by itself, in its own place, and see it as it really was.’

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘unquestionably.’‘At that point he would work out that it was the sun which caused the seasons and the

years, which governed everything in the visible realm, and which was in one way or another responsible for everything they used to see.’

‘That would obviously be the next stage.’

Leaving the cave is like learning something new. Why can learning something new be painful? Why do we have to acclimatize ourselves to new ideas and information? Give an example to illustrate your thought.

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‘Now, suppose he were reminded of the place where he lived originally, of what passed for wisdom there, and of his former fellow-prisoners. Don’t you think he would congratulate himself on the change? Wouldn’t he feel sorry for them?’

‘Indeed he would.’

Why would the prisoner who left the cave feel sorry for his former fellow-prisoners? Why would someone, who has attained wisdom, feels sorry for those who have not? Give an example to illustrate your thought.

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‘Back in the cave they might have had rewards and praise and prizes for the person who was quickest at identifying the passing shapes, who had the best memory for the ones which came earlier or later or simultaneously, and who as a result was best at predicting what was going to come next. Do you think he would feel any desire for these prizes? Would he envy those who were respected and powerful there? Or would he feel as Achilles does in Homer? Would he much prefer “to labour as a common serf, serving a man with nothing to his name,” putting up with anything to avoid holding those opinions and living that life?’

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘If you ask me, he’d be prepared to put up with anything to avoid that way of life.’

Why would the former prisoner not have any desire for prizes? Why would a spiritual person not care for such things? What is the difference between a spiritual person and a materialistic person? How are their desires different and why? Give an example to illustrate your thought.

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‘There’s another question I’d like to ask you,’ I said. ‘Suppose someone like that came back down into the cave and took up his old seat. Wouldn’t he find, coming straight in from the sunlight, that his eyes were swamped by the darkness?’

‘I am sure he would.’‘And suppose he had to go back to distinguishing the shadows, in competition with those

who had never stopped being prisoners. Before his eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, while he still couldn’t see properly—and this period of acclimatisation would be anything but short—wouldn’t he be a laughing-stock? Wouldn’t it be said of him that he had come back from his journey to the upper world with his eyesight destroyed, and that it wasn’t worth even trying to go up there? As for anyone who tried to set them free, and take them up there, if they could somehow get their hands on him and kill him, wouldn’t they do just that?

‘They certainly would,’ he said.

Why would the prisoners laugh at the former prisoner? Why would they want to kill him? Why do people ridicule those who challenge their way of thinking? Why do people want to kill those who don’t think as they do? Give examples of historical figures who were ridiculed or killed for challenging the customs, laws, or the conventional wisdom and knowledge of their day.

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‘That is the picture, then, my dear Glaucon. And it fits what we were talking about earlier in its entirety. The region revealed to us by sight is the prison dwelling, and the light of the fire inside the dwelling is the power of the sun. If you identify the upward path and the view of things above with the ascent of the soul to the realm of understanding, then you will have caught my drift—my surmise—which is what you wanted to hear. Whether it is really true, perhaps only god knows. My own view, for what it’s worth, is that in the realm of what can be known the things seen last, and seen with great difficulty, is the form or character of the good. But when it is seen, the conclusion must be that it turns out to be the cause of all that is right and good for everything. In the realm of sight it gives birth to light and light’s sovereign, the sun, while in the realm of thought it is itself sovereign, producing truth and reason unassisted. I further believe that anyone who is going to act wisely either in private life or in public life must have had a sight of this.’

‘Well, I for one agree with you,’ he said. ‘As far as I can follow, at any rate.’

What is the difference between the realm of sight and the realm of understanding? Why does Plato use the inside of a cave, a region of darkness where it is difficult to see, to represent the realm of sight? What does sight mean to Plato?

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‘Can you agree with me, then, on one further point? It’s no wonder if those who have been to the upper world refuse to take an interest in everyday affairs, if their souls are constantly eager to spend their time in that upper region. It’s what you’d expect, presumably, if things really are like the picture we have just drawn.’

‘Yes, it is what you’d expect.’‘And here’s another question. Do you think it’s at all surprising if a person who turns to

everyday life after the contemplation of the divine cuts a sorry figure, and makes a complete fool of himself—if before he can see properly, or can get acclimatized to the darkness around him, he is compelled to compete, in the lawcourts or anywhere else, over the shadows of justice or the statues which cast those shadows, or to argue about the way they are understood by those who have never seen justice itself.’

Why would someone who contemplates the divine cut a sorry figure for himself in everyday life? Why might a spiritual person have more difficulty handling practical things than a materialistic person? Give an example to illustrate your thought.

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‘No, it’s not in the least surprising,’ he said.‘Anyone with any sense,’ I said, ‘would remember that people’s eyesight can be

impaired in two quite different ways, and for two quite different reasons. There’s the change from light to darkness, and the change from darkness to light. He might then take it that the same is true of the soul, so that when he saw a soul in difficulties, unable to see, he would not laugh mindlessly, but would ask whether it had come from some brighter life and could not cope with the unfamiliar darkness, or whether it had come from greater ignorance in what was brighter, and was now dazzled by the glare. One he would congratulate on what it had seen, and on its way of life. The other he would pity. Or if he chose to laugh at it, his laughter would be less absurd than laughter directed at the soul which had come from the light above.’

‘Yes. What you say is entirely reasonable.’

According to Socrates, how can people’s eyesight be impaired? What is Socrates really talking about? If it’s not about eyesight, what is it? How is leaving the cave different from returning to it after having seen what is on the outside? How is learning something new different from trying to explain what you have learned to others who don’t understand you? Give an example to illustrate your thought.

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‘Well,’ I said, ‘if it’s true, there’s one conclusion we can’t avoid. Education is not what some people proclaim it to be. What they say, roughly speaking, is that they are able to put knowledge into souls where none was before. Like putting sight into eyes which were blind.’

‘Yes, that is what they say.’‘Whereas our present account indicates that this capacity in every soul, this

instrument by means of which each person learns, is like an eye which can only be turned away from the darkness and towards the light by turning the whole body. The entire soul has to turn with it, away from what is coming to be, until it is able to bear the sight of what is, and in particular the brightest part of it. This is the part we call the good, isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’‘Education, then, ‘ I said, ‘would be the art of directing this instrument, of finding the

easiest and most effective way of turning it round. Not the art of putting the power of sight into it, but the art which assumes it possesses this power—albeit incorrectly aligned, and looking in the wrong direction—and contrives to make it look in the right direction.’

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It looks as if that is what education is.’

From Plato, The Republic. Ed. G. R. F. Ferrari. Trans. Tom Griffith. New York: Cambridge UP, 2000. 220-26. (Book 7, sections 514a – 518d)

What is Socrates’ idea of education and how is it different from the more traditional view of education in ancient Greece, in other cultures, or in ours? Which do you like better, Socrates’ idea or a more traditional one?

Plato’s Recollection Theory:

To gain more understanding of this, look up Plato’s Recollection Theory. Basically, this is the belief that we are born with certain knowledge and that learning is a means of remembering or recollecting what we knew before we were born. Socrates dialectic method is intended to help his students discover what, on some deep level, he already knows.

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Writing Assignment about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave:

Write a paper about the following questions:

What is enlightenment?

What is the difference between enlightenment and knowledge?

What is Socrates’ view of education?

Make reference to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave along with whatever insights you have gained from your own experiences and observations.

The paper must be 4 double-spaced pages and satisfy all of the specifications and formatting requirements on the following pages of this handout to receive credit.

******************************************************************************Topic: Enlightenment

Thesis: Enlightenment entails the acquisition of knowledge for the sake of becoming a wiser, kinder, more compassionate person. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, a dialogue between Socrates and Plato’s brother Glaucon, gives graphic representation to this idea.

All arguments in the essay will be evaluated in part as to the degree that they are thesis-centered, meaning that the instructor will grade papers in part on the basis of how well the arguments support the thesis statement. Other considerations will be coherence, organization, and general proficiency with the language which includes the ability to write grammatically correct sentences.

Essay Outline:

Introduction: The Meaning of EnlightenmentDiscuss the meaning of enlightenment and difference between enlightenment and knowledge. Refer to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

Body - Part 1: Summary and Interpretation of the Images in the Allegory

Body – Part 2: Socrates’ View of Education

Conclusion:Review the ideas in the introduction and discuss insights you gained from reading Plato’s allegory.

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Specifications

1. Each essay must be stapled in the upper left-hand corner. Papers that are not stapled will not be accepted.

2. Each page of each essay must have typed page numbers in the upper right-hand corner. Papers without typed page numbers in the upper right hand corner will not be accepted.

3. Each essay must be typed. Essays that are not typed will not be accepted.

4. Font size must be 12.

5. Font style must be Times New Roman.

6. Each paragraph must be indented.

7. There must be no more than one double-space between paragraphs.

8. The name of the student, professor, course, and date must be flush left with a double-space between each. See example on the following page.

9. Each essay must be double-spaced.

10. For citations more than one sentences, use the following specifications. See example on page 9.

a. single-spaceb. font size 10c. left indent at 1 right indent at 5.5.

11. Quotation marks and the appropriate MLA citation for all quotes must be used. The absence of quotation marks where needed is PLAGIARISM. See example of internal punctuation on the following page. WARNING: Omission of quotation marks is grounds for an F for the paper and possibly for the final grade.

12. All sources used in the essay must be cited in a “Works Cited” page and be done according to MLA formats. See example on the page after the following page.

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FormatFirst Page This is an example of the top of the first page of a paper. Use double-spaces. The title must be a double-space below the date and centered. See MLA Handbook - Seventh Edition. 4.3. Heading And Title. 116.

Internal Punctuation

Long QuotationsThis is an example of how to do a citation longer than one sentence.

ksfsdfsalsfdjkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkks;dflkaks;fldskf;sdlllllllllllllllllwks;dlfk’safdksa;

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John Smith

Professor Abraham

English 201

May 7, 2009

Greek Tragedy

“In the very first year of our century Sigmund Freud in his Interpretation of Dreams offered a famous and influential interpretation of Oedipus the King:

Oedipus Rex is what is known as a tragedy of destiny. Its tragic effect is said to lie in the contrast between supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson which, it is said, the deeply moved spectator should learn from the tragedy is submission to the divine will and realization of his own impotence. (Trans. James Strachey)

This passage is of course a landmark in the history of modern thought, and it is fascinating to observe that this idea, which, valid or not, has had enormous influence, stems from an attempt to answer a literary problem – why does the play have this overpowering effect on modern audiences?” (Knox, Bernard. Sophocles – The Three Theban Plays. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Bernhard Knox, 1982. 132. Print.)

When citing a source in the text do as follows: “Oedipus in the play is a free agent” (Fagles, 149).

When paraphrasing do as follows: Fagles maintains that Oedipus has free will (Fagles, 149).

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Works Cited Page

This is an example of the top of the first page of a works-cited list. Entries are in alphabetical order with second lines of each entry indented (hanging indentation).See MLA Handbook - Seventh Edition. 131.

The Works Cited page must be on a separate page.

“In the very first year of our century Sigmund Freud in his Interpretation of Dreams offered a famous and influential interpretation of Oedipus the King:

Oedipus Rex is what is known as a tragedy of destiny. Its tragic effect is said to lie in the contrast between supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson which, it is said, the deeply moved spectator should learn from the tragedy is submission to the divine will and realization of his own impotence. (Trans. James Strachey)

This passage is of course a landmark in the history of modern thought, and it is fascinating to observe that this idea, which, valid or not, has had enormous influence, stems from an attempt to answer a literary problem – why does the play have this overpowering effect on modern audiences?” (Knox, Bernard. Sophocles – The Three Theban Plays. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Bernhard Knox, 1982. 132. Print.)

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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. Edited by Edward Hubler.

A Signet Classic. Copyright by Edward Hubler, 1963. Print.

Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays – Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oeidipus at Colonus.

Translated By Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Robert Fagles, 1982, 1984. Print.

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Andrew Gottlieb SAMPLE PAPER for Plato’s Allegory of the

Cave

English 101- (section number)

Professor Gottlieb

May 10, 2014

The Spirit of EnlightenmentAndrew Gottlieb

Introduction: The Meaning of Enlightenment

What is enlightenment? Before considering what it is, we can consider what it is not.

Enlightenment is not simply being knowledgeable. One can know about all kinds of things

and still not be enlightened. The acquisition of information alone is not, in and of itself, what

enlightenment is about. We are often told that knowledge is power. In my view, this notion

is incompatible with the spirit of enlightenment. Enlightenment is not about power. It is about

the love of learning, not for the sake of material attainment, nor for gaining an advantage over

others. To seek enlightenment is to seek ethical enhancement. The acquisition of knowledge for

power is likely to induce cruelty, greed and selfishness. Enlightenment entails the acquisition of

knowledge for the sake of becoming a wiser, kinder, more compassionate person. Plato’s

Allegory of the Cave, a dialogue between Socrates and Plato’s brother Glaucon, gives graphic

representation to this idea.

Body – Part 1: Summary and Interpretation of the Images in the Allegory

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The allegory presents us with an image representing two distinct realms. He refers to the

inside of the cave as the realm of sight. It is in this space that the prisoners are chained in such

a way that they are able to see only the shadows of objects outside the cave. In Plato’s

conception of reality this space signifies the imperfect and limited capacity of sensory

perception. All that we perceive by means of our senses is subject to change and decay. Notions

of truth, beauty, goodness, and justice, based on sheer experience are capricious and unreliable.

For Plato the only way one can gain true understanding of these is through pure thought. The

image that signifies this higher state of consciousness is the outside of the cave which Plato

refers to as the realm of understanding. It is only by giving up the notions we have attained by

means of observation that we can attain true understanding, i.e. enlightenment.

The images Plato employs in the allegory are compelling metaphors for his philosophical

conception of reality and learning. The objects outside the cave represent the perfect,

unchanging ideas upon which our understanding of things is modeled. In the realm of sight,

we encounter diversity, different versions of the same idea. We are confronted with diverse

notions of justice, beauty, and goodness. In the realm of understanding we share one common

conception for everything. Truth is not fractured; it is universal. The people in the cave are

prisoners because they can see only the shadows of the objects outside the cave, the reflections

of ideas. As such, they have imperfect notions of justice, beauty, and truth. It is in this respect

that all that they see or comprehend are illusions. Rather than love knowledge, they love the

things that knowledge can give them - money, success, and fame. Because they are blind to the

eternal singularity of ideas, they are trapped in what is ultimately a futile quest for things

destined to decay.

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In Plato’s view only ideas are eternal and as such immune to decay. To contemplate the

true and underlying meaning of things is to seek the eternal, the divine. The realm of

understanding is a state of mind entailing the quest for the highest of all of ideas, or what Plato

refers to as the “form or character of the good” (Plato. 224). Underlying all this is Plato’s vision

of Utopia, a world ruled by philosopher kings, those whose intention is to perpetuate justice in its

purest sense. To make this vision a reality, we must break the chains that bind us. This is where

the role of the teacher comes into play. The goal of the teacher is to enable his students to

liberate themselves from the limitation of their assumptions and beliefs and enable them to

discover new and deeper ways of thinking. This process of discovery is not easy. In the

Allegory of the Cave Socrates characterizes the initial stages of enlightenment as painful. For

one who has lived in darkness all his life, exposure to light is uncomfortable. This is the

discomfort one experiences when confronted with the realization of his ignorance and the

falsehood of his values and beliefs. Most of us do not welcome those who challenge our way of

thinking with open arms. As such, the job of the kind of teacher who poses such challenge can

be daunting.

Once led to the realm of understanding, the prisoner sees the emptiness of the prizes he

and his fellow prisoners have for so long held dear. Material things and the praise of others is no

longer rewarding. Once exposed to the light, the prisoner becomes an outcast among his former

compatriots. He can no longer think as they do. He can no longer share their love of ephemeral

honors and awards. Having been taken out of the darkness, he values truth, beauty, justice, and

goodness above all else and it is from the contemplation of these things that he derives rewards

that make the material rewards he used to prize pale by comparison. Who, after all, would

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choose the ephemeral over the eternal any more than one would choose mortality over

immortality?

Body – Part 2: Socrates’ Idea of Education

One of the most compelling ideas in the allegory is how understanding is attained.

How does one become enlightened? What is education in its truest sense? Socrates answers

these questions as follows:

“Education is not what some people proclaim it to be. What they say, roughly speaking, is that they are able to put knowledge into souls where none was before. Like putting sight into eyes which were blind…our present account indicates that this capacity in every soul, this instrument by means of which each person learns, is like an eye which can only be turned away from the darkness and towards the light by turning the whole body. The entire soul has to turn with it, away from what is coming to be, until it is able to bear the sight of what is, and in particular the brightest part of it” (Plato, 226)

The means by which we become enlightened is thus by seeing things differently.

Education is not a matter of acquisition but of discovery.

The risk involved in this manner of learning is that once a person learns to challenge his

own assumptions and beliefs, he then feels impelled to challenge the assumptions and beliefs of

others. Upon returning to the cave, the former prisoner is seen as a threat. Those who challenge

conventional wisdom challenge knowledge underlying the power of the ruling class. There is

nothing so threating to those whose power is based on the love of material possessions than the

belief that there is something greater and more valuable than anything money can buy. The

followers of spiritual guides are unlikely to be swayed by the promises and even the threats of

a leader who offers material reward and warnings of material punishments. The enlightened see

beyond the limits of these things; they believe in a power greater than any man.

Conclusion:

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Enlightenment is thus empowering, not in the sense that it offers power in the material

sense, but that it provides a foundation for courage, specifically the courage of conviction.

Regardless of external forces, the enlightened individual maintains his principles and as such is

a person of high integrity. It is in this respect that we can see how Plato’s conception of reality is

consistent with the idea of building a better world by means of encouraging a perspective that

transcends material concerns and preoccupations. It is thus that the spirit of enlightenment may

well be the means by which to construct a society founded on justice rather than inequity. Those

who have endeavored to challenge the status quo in this respect, those who have fought for

equality, people such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King were seen as a threat and, in

the course of fighting to make a better world, met violent and untimely ends.

It is in this respect that Plato’s idea of education and enlightenment is revolutionary in

nature. It is not that the enlightened individual seeks revolutionary change; he is simply acting on

principle. To live according to principle in a world that negates it is, by nature of such contrast,

revolutionary. A good man or woman in a society of criminals becomes a pariah until such time

as he or she succeeds inspiring them to see the error of their ways. In many respects we are all

in the dark. We are all living in the cave. The first step on the path toward enlightenment is the

realization that reality is deeper and more beautiful than anything we may be in the habit of

imagining it to be.

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Works Cited

Plato, The Republic. Ed. G. R. F. Ferrari. Trans. Tom Griffith. New York: Cambridge UP, 2000. 220-26. (Book 7, sections 514a – 518d)

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Your name

Course number and section

Name of your professor

Date of completion

Title

Introduction: The Meaning of EnlightenmentDiscuss the meaning of enlightenment and difference between enlightenment and knowledge. Refer to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

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Body - Part 1: Summary and Interpretation of the Images in the Allegory

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Body – Part 2: Socrates’ View of Education

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Conclusion:Review the ideas in the introduction and discuss insights you gained from reading Plato’s allegory.

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Works Cited