About Religion & Society in West

The allegory of the cave is about the real events which occur in the world, which are mainly influenced by spiritual and sensory perceptions of human beings. The allegory of the cave not only explains how these factors affect the way human beings live and conduct their activities in the world, but it also provides basic examples of the different types of worlds (Plato, 360 B.C.E). These types of the world are: the cave, which is dark inside, and the outer world which is the physical world. The cave symbolizes the spiritual world, which is dark and it cannot be clearly visible. Whereas, the outer world is the sensory world is depicted by natural things.

The allegory of the cave can otherwise be explained as the basic determinant of the things which occur in the world. Most people are usually influenced by the majority, and they are not therefore real in whatever they do (Plato, 360 B.C.E). On the other hand, the finer things in life corrupt the behaviour of most people and they end up making decisions which are the opposite of what they are actual supposed to do.

The prisoners are the ignorant people who are both in the cave and in the world. They do not see the reason as to why they should take a move in whatever they are doing, and hence they end up remaining in a state of confusion and illusion (Plato, 360 B.C.E). Due to the ignorance nature of the prisoners, they tend to think those who have made it in the world are the puppet handlers and they therefore live a life full of fear. A prisoner who escapes and comes back to tell the story to his colleagues, is a one who stops being ignorant and views the world in a very different way.

Reference

Plato, 360 B.C.E. The Republic. Retrieved from: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.8.vii.html