Analogy of Divided Line and the Allegory of the Cave in Rela
Plato begins Book VI describing what the nature of the State's rulers or guardians should consist of. According to Plato, truthfulness, spirit, moderation, gentility, and the ability to grasp the forms are some of the essential qualities of a good and just ruler. "Since those who are able to grasp what is always the same in all respects are philosophers, while those who are not able to do so and who wander among the many things that vary in every sort of way are not philosophers, which of the two should be leaders in the city?" (Book VI, 484b) Plato exclaims that philosophers are the only people that should be able to rule over others. He makes it clear throughout this book that these are the only people that can grasp the pure forms through the mind and understand the essence and the beauty of the forms as well as the Good. The majority of people do not. "When we turn our eyes to things whose colors are no longer in the light of day but in the gloom of night, the eyes are dimmed and seem nearly blind, as if clear vision were no longer in them, yet when one turns them on things illuminated by the sun, they see clearly and vision appears in those same eyes." (Book VI, 508c) This passage clearly describes the analogy of the d
In Book VII, Plato goes on to describe the Allegory of the Cave about human beings trapped in the depths of a cave, limited to only what they see and hear in the cave. The cave symbolizes the world the people think is real. They can only refer to the shadows that pass before their eyes, rather than to the real things that cast the shadows. "The visible realm should be likened to the prison dwelling, and the light of the fire inside it to the power of the sun. And if you interpret the upward journey and the study of things above as the upward journey of the soul to the intelligible realm, you'll grasp what I hope to convey, since that is what you wanted to hear about." (Book VII, 517b) The crucial point is that the prisoners in the cave are not seeing reality, but only a shadow representation of it. When the single prisoner is released from the cave, the prisoner is cured of ignorance and ultimately exposed to reality but the rest of the prisoners are still secluded to the world as they see it and only believe what they see. The prisoner that escapes the limitations of the cave explores through an unfamiliar journey that allows this prisoner to come to a higher realm and true reality, now being able to grasp the forms. In comparison to the divided line and ideal ruler in Book VI, this person is now the best candidate to govern in society because he is capable of grasping the forms and only thos
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Approximate Word count = 950
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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