In the Republic Plato Presents What Is Probably the Most

question 4

True/False

In the Republic Plato presents what is probably the most famous tale in Western philosophy: the "Allegory of the Cave." Through the persona of Socrates, Plato tells a story that works on many levels. Primarily the allegory represents facets of Plato's theories of knowledge and metaphysics, but it can also be seen as a metaphor for the search for the true and the good through philosophy. Imagine, Plato says, prisoners chained for life against a wall in a cave so that they can see only shadows on the opposite wall. The shadows appear because behind and above the wall to which the prisoners are chained there burns a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway along which people pass carrying vessels, statues, and replicas of animals. The prisoners see the shadows of these artifacts on the wall and hear the people's voices echoing off of it, and they mistakenly believe that these sights and sounds are the real world. But the real world-the truth-lies above the darkened cave out in the bright sunlight. If a prisoner is released from his chains and is shown the true source of the shadows, he will not believe his eyes, and he will prefer to believe as he always has-just as people will often prefer comfortable commonplace assumptions to the deeper, sometimes unsettling understanding that philosophy can provide. If he is dragged into the light, his eyes will hurt, and he will be disoriented, just as the truths of philosophy can at first seem strange and frightening. If the prisoner finally sees things as they really are in the full sunlight, he will pity the prisoners he left behind and will return to the cave to enlighten them. But they will revile him as a ridiculous fool and might even put him to death for his heresies-a fate that has often befallen those who have dared speak unconventional truths (e.g., Socrates).
-The allegory suggests that there is a difference between mere belief and knowledge.

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