Allegory_of_the_Cave

Allegory of the Cave “Allegory of the Cave” The prison dwelling and the visible realm are compared to one another in the first sentence of the text. The realm is dark, with the exception of a small, well-kept fire. This burning fire is almost a representation of the burning sun that shines in the outer world. This sun is interpreted as the “idea of the good.” The fire inside the cave helps guide the prisoners to use their senses. Without it, they would see nothing, not even their own shadows glowing on the wall. The physical objects that the prisoner saw were mere illusions. We should never trust what we see with just our eyes, because illusions will be the result. Then, we would get comfortable and never second guess it for ourselves. The realm is not visible, but the concept is true and real, therefore it is merely just an idea. Only ideas are considered real. The visible is what one sees, but is really just an opinion. A table, for example, is hard, four legged, has a horizontal surface, and nothing else qualifies as a table. The concept table is the intelligible, and not visible, but the one particular, concrete visible, world, prisoner, just, ideas, realm, one, never, idea, senses, outside, knowledge, journey, intelligible, full, fire, cave, able, things, table, sun, should, second, real, physical, order, opinion, objects, nothing, light, known, illusions, good, found, encountered, concept, both, before, been, this, yourself, yet, without, well-kept, way, use, their, upward, turn, truth