The parable of the cave is a story where men are held prisoner is a cave. These men could not move because they were chained underground and all they could see are shadow of things from the fire that was burning. These men only saw shadows of things because of the fire and walkway. The light was projecting objects and these men would guess what each was. These men were never outside in their entire lives. They were trapped in a cave where darkness ruled and very little light was shown. There only contact with mankind was echoes they heard from people passing by. What kind of life is this for these men? They had no understanding of life outside the cave. Plato later asks the question of one of these men being freed and getting a chance to see real light. How would this man react? How would he adjust to the light? This man finally was able to see the real images of life. After taking all of this in the man finally got to see the real light, the sun. Now his eyes are opened !

His theory is first draw a line and then cut it into two sections. One section represents opinion and the other knowledge. Then, cut those two sections again. The sections of opinion are imagination and belief. The sections of knowledge are thought and understanding. The divided line is the level of human understanding. One must do a number of things to get past the four stages to reach true knowledge. The only way to reach the top of the line is through an understanding of forms.

I.e. sky. His eyes are not used to the light of the sun yet. The third thought is when the man looks at things in the light and attempts to understand their true form. The last section, understanding is when the man looks at the Sun and sees the light it shines. Since he has now seen the light he understands everything outside which he never laid eyes on before. After the man accomplishes that he now has understanding and is closer to true knowledge. Once one imagines, believes, thinks, and understands true knowledge he might become one who understands forms, perfect ideas, and

Some topics in this essay:
, Allegory Plato’s, true knowledge, divided line, parable cave, real light, responsible world, light sun, cave darkness, cut sections, shadows objects, cave plato,