Plato's Allegory of the Cave

 

                Plato gives us the allegory of the Cave where he sheds light on this feature of human nature, learning, and the importance of education. He provides us the idea that education is not to put knowledge into the soul, but to bring out the hidden talents in the soul by directing it towards the right objects. Plato's allegory describes a vivid scene where prisoners have been chained hand and foot and stare at a wall inside a cave. On this wall the prisoners can see a shadow plays of passerby who travels along a walkway that lies above and behind the prisoners. He suggests a scenario where a prisoner is released to the real world. The prisoner is blinded by the light of the sun outside the cave and the massiveness of the world around him.    The prisoner rushes back into the cave to tell his friends of his discoveries but they can hardly recognize him as he now appears simply as everything else they see: a shadow projected on the wall. They fear him as he come back and assume that his eyes were damage as he struggles to see the darkness of the cave, and they would kill or battered anyone who attempted to free them.

            After reading the allegory of the cave, I question myself of Why is it the prisoners would attempt to hurt anyone who freed them? Wouldn't freedom be what they desire? Based on my understanding, the allegory puts together a picture of human nature and learning where the prisoners only know of their existence in the cave. Plato describes how people will often react violently when confronted with change. They only know and learn what is obviously presented to them by what they experience in this world.

              Education system raises us to know certain things. We learn facts, figures and process for how many things works around us. School systems focuses more on memorization of this information hazes our perception of the world around us. His philosophy on education was more geared towards self-learning. He suggests that educators should be guiding their students in a direction which encourages learners to delve, on their own, deep into a subject that the learners are naturally talented. Hence, he wanted learners to deeply comprehend and understand whatever tehir natural born talent was so that they may use that to benefit themselves and the other people. education has transferred into our mind a set of perceptions of the world around us. education has implanted various tools and skills deemed necessary to function in the world around us.

            Plato believes that the mind can reach the highest form of understanding. True knowledge cannot be attained simply through traditional means of education where everyone knows the same facts and abilities, across a wide-ranging display of disciplines. Plato's message in his allegory of the cave was clear that education should be a guiding path towards deep contemplation and indulging of personal talents. He tells us to identify our natural gifts and be guided on the path of self-discovery as human beings.