The Allegory of the Cave - Plato

The Allegory of the Cave - Plato

This a short film made in clay to explain Plato's "Allegegory of the Cave".
Also commonly known as Myth of the Cave, Metaphor of the Cave, the Cave Analogy, Plato's cave, and the Parable of the Cave.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• plato
• cave
• allegory of the cave
• myth of the cave
• metaphor of the cave
• analogy
• parable
• philosophy
• philosophical

[jimmayl1]

Maybe it's an unimportant point, but are the prisoners able to see each other, or just speak to each other?

[Laerthor]

@jimmayl1 the way i see it, the prisoners can always see and talk to each other. and because they see each other as these distorted images and communicate with the same recognition that they are; and after some time each believe they are the distorted image they see of themself on the wall.

[bladderfish]

Absolutely pointless...

[Laerthor]

Just like your comment.

[MsNovah]

@Laerthor : excuse me!its not pointless!.didnt u get the meaning of it??or i should say the logic of it??Plato's trying to tell us something about the reality and the unreality of the world..just try to listen carefully and understand d meaning..

[Laerthor]

@MsNovah I see it as Plato's about the difficulty of trying to communicate the nature of life with all the prisoners around him, though you can find many meanings from it. It's not a perfect alegory, as the prisoners can walk out whenever that's their main desire. But it's Plato's unique description on life and I like it.

[d3adpoet]

Very exciting. Now to find the right time to tell it :)

[Rice4Lif3]

plato is philosophy and philosophy is plato

[GodlikePlaylist]

epic. well done.

[081971jt]

Love it love it love it. I am a Philosophy professor and will show it to my class.

[himynameisbede]

@BetWinston Exactly, you can find enlightenment and happiness without learning new information therefore I pose the question, does leaving the cave really matter? No. It doesn't sound right to think there is no value in finding new information as well though. What it is though, I'm not sure

[BetWinston]

@himynameisbede You bring up an interesting take, you say "But plenty of people have found happiness through a healthy spiritual state" even if they were imprisoned but unaware. Does that mean that enlightenment is a state of mind like the amputee experienced and not something that comes from sensory understanding like the man who left the cave? Could he have found enlightenment without new information? Plato wants us to understand the value of new information and questioning the present as itis

[himynameisbede]

@BetWinston 2/2 have looked within to find salvation. I realise that the difference between the Allegory of the Cave and this story is that in one, the prisoners don't know of their plight and in the other the guy does. But plenty of people have found happiness through a healthy spiritual state, while being unaware of any imprisonment - so I'm not sure if being enslaved really matters? Or is even something that can be afflicted onto you without your inner self allowing it?

[himynameisbede]

@BetWinston 1/2 Ha, thank you. Yeah I thought it seemed quite fitting. Although, I don't think its the best way to see things. I can't think of any quote to encapsulate this idea but... I read about a guy in East Asia, who lost both his legs and was forced to stay in this hut by himself. Apparently he went through great suffering of the mind but eventually became enlightened (as in, the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and other spiritual gurus), and if it wasn't for his imprisonment he would never

[BetWinston]

@himynameisbede ahh i love Goethe. He has some really great points.

[himynameisbede]

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[ajOzvjezDica]

@jimmayl1 their heads are chained also, so that they can't see each other or speak to each other...  ( History of Philosophy by Boris Kalin )