Allegory of the Cave
In Plato?s "The Allegory of the Cave," he suggests that there are two different forms of vision, a "mind?s eye" and a "bodily eye." The "bodily eye" is a metaphor for the senses. While inside the cave, the prisoners function only with this eye. The "mind?s eye" is a higher level of thinking, and is mobilized only when the prisoner is released into the outside world. This eye does not exist within the cave; it only exists in the real, perfect world. The "bodily eye" relies on sensory perceptions about the world in order to determine what is reality. Inside the cave, the prisoners believe that the shadows they see on the wall are actual reality. Their "bodily eye" tells them that this world is real because their senses perceive so. Plato suggests that the senses do not perceive actual truth. The "mind?s eye" is not active inside the cave because the prisoners are imprisoned in this distorted world, which they believe is reality. When one prisoner is pulled out of the cave and into the light, it is this sudden freedom that starts the gradual process of enlightenment. This sudden freedom opens the "mind?s eye". The prisoner "will be
able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as he is" . He then begins to understand that there is a reality higher than that which was previously believed. By using the same word, "eye," to refer to both, Plato is suggesting that there is a connection between the two. Both eyes are used to perceive what is supposed to be reality, but the two see completely different worlds. For instance, inside the cave the prisoner uses his "bodily eye" to see the world of shadow "puppets". He truly believes that these shadows are complete reality because his "bodily eye" tells him so. When he is released from the cave, he uses his "mind?s eye" to see the sun, moon, stars, and water. It is then that he realizes that these objects are true reality. The "bodily eye" sees the imperfect world, and the "mind?s eye" sees the real, perfect world. The cave in this allegory symbolizes the dark imperfect world filled with shadows and distorted images that only the "bodily eye" is able to see. This is the world of sensory perceptions that al
Some common words found in the essay are:
Allegory Cave, minds eye, bodily eye, inside cave, inside cave prisoners, perfect world, reality bodily eye, reality bodily, imperfect world, world sense, cave prisoners, eye minds eye, world sense perception, world minds, eye bodily eye, prisoner released,
Approximate Word count = 769
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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