https://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm
The website gives a summary, in points form, of the allegory of the Cave. It shows the reality faced by the prisoners, who while in prison the only thing they are able to see are the forms cast by the shadow.
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html
The website provides the detailed discussion between Glaucon and Plato, detailing the experience of the prisoners. It presents the revelation of the world to the people after having existed in a world of ignorance.
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/platoscave.html
The website gives a background of the “Plato’s Allegory of the Cave” from the perspective of the discussion between a young follower (Glaucon) and Socrates. It speaks about what it means to live in a state of ignorance and to find light through an enlightening process, which is frightening at first before one gets used to it.
From the point of view of the leader being a guardian with a high level of education, then it is true that the person is expected to make better moral decisions on the behalf of those being led (Soccio, 2015). True, the average person might not have the kind of qualification a leader has.
The implication of this on democracy is major, especially from the view of the majority (the ignorant) assigning power to a few intellectuals. It is what happens in pure democracy when the masses continue to vote and give power to the minority who makes the decisions on their behalf.
Comparison of “The Truman Show” and Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”
The “Allegory of the Cave” is similar in many ways to the show, “The Truman Show.” The prisoners are placed in the prison where their only reality, at the time, are the shadows the puppets cast on the wall (Soccio, 2015). Though they are far from the reality, the prisoners believe they are. The actors in the show are representative of the shadows on the wall. Just like the shadows in the cave, the main actor, Truman is fooled to believe that they are a reality, while they are not. Like in the cave, Truman exists in the movie world, believing that it is the real world. Hence, both the prisoners and the actor are not aware of the existence of a real world.
These people have lived in a fake reality for a long time and it is the only world they can identify with. Having been placed in the cave for a long time, they cannot compare their “reality” with any other (Soccio, 2015). However, the two are a representative of enlightenment from the perspective of the ability to escape from the cave and the movie world. The person who escapes the fake world is able to face the real world, which is frightening at first, but the person is able to get used to it. However, the new world is fascinating and nothing like what they have been used to.
References
Soccio, D. J. (2015). Archetypes of wisdom: An introduction to philosophy. Nelson Education.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
