Plato's Allegory of the Cave

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
- Socrates believes that the cave represents a reality and what we think it is. That it is the only reality we understand.

 2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
- The fire and first seeing the light or the outside which is the actual world, the dark cave, the puppet shadows behind them and that represents false realities, and the prisoners and their chains which ties them to believe that is a reality.

 3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
- Plato says that everyone is given the capacity to learn in their soul when they are born.

4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
- The shackles represent how far we let our thoughts go. The cave represents our imagination and the reality we want to believe.

 5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
- I think how we see ourselves really shackles our minds. We become harsh on ourselves which makes us wonder how others see us and if we are really good enough.

6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
- The freed prisoner represents someone who steps out of their comfort zone to experience a world unknown. He can't find a way to compare the reality he has to the prisoners reality because theirs is completely different so he turns into a shadow.

 7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
- One way lack of clarity occurs is when the prisoners decide not to listen to the freed prisoner and try and understand what he is saying. Another way is the prisoners are not able to see actual reality because of the restraints of the chains.

 8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
- Prisoners can only be free by someone who has been freed. (In other words, enlightened by someone who has already been enlightened).

 9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- I think so. I'm all for not judging people before getting to know them but you can get a sense of someone's reality by seeing their style because through fashion, hair, and makeup it is a form of expressing yourself.

 10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
- One would be that their is not an actual reality, everyone has their own. The second would be people see what they want to believe.