this is the section of my essay that describes the "Allegory of the Cave" (my own retelling)
These paragraphs I have derived from a number of sources i used including:
-the novel 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder which has accurate information on historical events in western philosophy.
-And also " The Philosophy Podcast" (learnoutloud.com) spoken by Prof. Colin McGinn.
-Also trusty wikipedia and various other websites that gave recounts of the story,
All my sources had similar explanations which i have sifted through and found commonalities. which i have used to as the basis of my explanations .
Since their birth a group of people have been living in an underground cave. They are bound by rope at the hands and feet and are unable to turn around. They face a wall that has shadows cast on it by a fire positioned behind them. The shadows the appear on the wall are from objects passing in front of the fire. We assume these people are able to speak because they can identify the similar shapes on the wall and the names given to them. These people have never known a different environment, because they have grown up in the cave since birth and they consider these shadows to be reality.
One day on the of the men in the cave escapes into the real would, It is beautiful and he is, understandably, confused by this new reality. Though, soon after he is able to identify the shapes that had appeared on the wall as actual objects with dimension and colour. Greatly inclined by his discovery he goes back to the cave to alert the people of his findings. They don’t what to believe that they have been wrong all these years, are disrupted by his enthusiasm and decide to kill him.
I've changed my question from:
explain the importance of the Allegory of the Cave by Plato in the understanding of western philosophy
to
describe the Allegory of the Cave by Plato and its representation and significance in the western philosophy.
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