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This is an allegory used by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic to illustrate "our nature in its education and want of education" Plato lets Socrates describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato's Socrates, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.The Allegory is related to Plato's Theory of Forms, according to which the "Forms" (or "Ideas"), and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. Only knowledge of the Forms constitutes real knowledge.[1] In addition, the Allegory of the Cave is an attempt to explain the philosopher's place in society: to attempt to enlighten the "prisoners".
But, what if the light isn't all it's cracked up to be? That is the idea explored in the modern-day adaptation of Plato's "Allegory," the film The Matrix. Lessons: Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Comparative AnalysisThe Allegory is a dialogue written by Plato that follows the journey of a released prisoner as he discovers his sense of reality was false and becomes enlightened. Plato’s allegory takes you through the stages of enlightenment and the duty the enlightened have to the ignorant. The Matrix is about a man named Neo that gets released from the prison of ignorance and continues his journey onto enlightenment. Neo’s stages of enlightenment in the Matrix are the same as the steps the released prisoner in the Allegory takes. Understanding Plato’s allegory leads to a much better understanding of The Matrix, the opposite is true too; understanding of The Matrix can help aid the understanding of Plato’s Allegory. "The Matrix is a system... and that system is our enemy. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." "Allegory" Discussion Questions:Plato’s Allegory of the Cave What is an allegory? A kind of story in which what happens is being compared to something else that is similar and unstated. What do you think the Allegory of the Cave is being compared with? I asked you to view the reading from the perspective of a student beginning a path to enlightenment via a college education. On a bigger level, it can be read as a commentary on society-- how our government and institutions (parental, religious, educational, work, etc.) create a facade for us to live behind. So long as we buy into the reality of the facade, "they" can remain in control over "us". Plato felt that the study of Philosophy was the key to escaping the facade; Rhetoric and Philosophy are closely related disciplines. In regards to education, particularly within the Humanities, it is important that educators view their job as Yeats did: "Not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire." And as Socrates intended: An exploration of truth and knowledge. Would you want to be released from the cave? Why or why not? Consider the pros and cons. Plato reminds us that we can't all be "fully enlightened"-- we can't all be Philosopher. For if we were, the world would cease to function as we know it. Whatever our "path" is, we must master it. It is our duty to share our mastery, to function in our chosen role, to contribute to society the best way we can. Furthermore, the path to release is difficult, and those who attain it are as burdened by their knowledge as they are enlightened by it. Is it a worthy burden to bear? What is like the cave in our world? I've felt boxed in-- like I was "encaved"-- many times in my life. Have you? If so, what was your way out? Who has the power to shape your ideas and beliefs? In what ways is this good and in what ways is it not so good? Do you wish to shape the ideas and beliefs of others? Why or why not? Is there anything that you know for absolute certain to be true? **Personal truths. What are the shadows we see, and how do they distort our sense of reality? (distractions) Questions: What is the cave a metaphor for? How about the light? What "encaves" us? How do we "escape"? Why should we? Do you want the red pill or the blue pill? Comparative Analysis: "Based on Plato’s allegory. In the film, the humans trapped in the Matrix are like the people in the cave. They see only what the machines want them to see, but they believe they see reality as it really is. They accept what their senses tell them as all that exists. Neo suspects that this is all a lie, but he’s not sure how the Matrix works. Morpheus, who runs the resistance to the Matrix, brings Neo into the Resistance, believing that Neo is the person who has been foreseen by the Oracle to be able to defeat the Matrix. "Morpheous to Neo: “The truth is that you are a slave Neo, like everyone else you have been born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch.” [Prisons of the Mind]"The first stage to enlightenment in the Allegory starts when a prisoner is liberated and forced to stand and move causing him suffer sharp pains. In the Matrix this stage is presented when Neo woke up after being released from the Matrix. He winced as if in pain, this is precisely what Plato referred to in the first stage. The reason for the pain was muscle atrophy; he had never used his muscles so they caused him pain. Being chained so he could not move, the prisoner is very similar to Neo who in reality was grown in a small pod and could not move. The released prisoner and Neo both experienced the same pain because neither of them had moved before." [Neo can't see when he first opens his eyes; he is "blinded" by the light.] Neo asks, “Why do my eyes hurt?” to which Morpheus replies, “You never used them before.” Because prior to being released, Neo lived in a dream world and since being released was in true reality. Also because being grown and kept in the pods the machines rule, Neo had never even opened his eyes, literally, until being released. The released prisoner in the allegory experiences pain in his eyes for a similar reason, he had been in the dark for his entire life and the light is painful to experience for the first time. As Plato’s allegory continues so does Neo’s journey to enlightenment. "He 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.” -Allegory This is represented in the movie when Neo realizes he is "The One". He accepts his place, now enlightened of what that place is. "After the allegory of the cave Plato explains the importance of the enlightened to share their knowledge with the ignorant, rather than keep the information to use towards evil. At the end of the movie, it alludes that Neo will do exactly what Plato insists and attempt to share his knowledge. The final scene of the movie is Neo talking into a phone, talking to the machines. His final words in the movie were “I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know you’re afraid. I’m going to show these people what you don’t want them to see. I’m going to show them a world without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible.” These words indicate that Neo will attempt to free people from the Matrix by enlightening them, which is exactly what Plato’s allegory asserted was important to society."**This is comparable to the job of a Professor of the Humanities. It is our job to offer knowledge and not "turn on the light" for our students but rather remind them that it is out there and that they should never cease to seek it. Have you ever heard the saying "innocence is bliss?" Do we care about certain things independent of the experiences they create for us? For example, is being in reality important even if the experience isn’t pleasant? Is it better to live happily in the Matrix/Cave than miserably in reality? Why or why not? ... Is it better to know and be bothered by the knowledge or to not know at all? --Quoted sections are from Alea Walstrom via "Educated Topics" Red pill or Blue pill? Enlightenment is more than being presented with information. To obtain enlightenment, you must be receptive to receiving the information and committing to the challenge of a higher level of understanding. This is not easy... the path to enlightenment is not the easiest one. Do you want the red pill or the blue pill? Do you want to remain comfortable, or can you handle the discomfort that comes with enlightenment? Will you bite the apple (you can't even have the apple if you don't enter the orchard) or reject it-- out of boredom, ignorance, laziness, rebellion? Will you stick out this journey as long as it takes... will a diploma be your ticket out of the cave? The decision is all yours. |
https://web.stanford.edu/class/ihum40/cave.pdf
The Allegory-- TEXT
The Allegory-- TEXT
The following words were written by Justice Kennedy culminating the recent SCOTUS decision on marriage equality. How can we relate his words to the idea of the cave/matrix?
The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times. The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all of its dimensions, and so they entrusted to future generations a charter protecting the right of all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning. When new insight reveals discord between the Constitution’s central protections and a received legal stricture, a claim to liberty must be addressed. -Justice Kennedy
How does the following quote from a letter written by poet Arthur Rimbaud relate to the ideas presented in the cave/matrix texts?
“A poet makes himself a visionary through a long, boundless, and systematized disorganization of all the senses. All forms of love, of suffering, of madness; he searches himself, he exhausts within himself all poisons, and preserves their quintessences. Unspeakable torment, where he will need the greatest faith, a superhuman strength, where he becomes all men the great invalid, the great criminal, the great accursed--and the Supreme Scientist! For he attains the unknown! Because he has cultivated his soul, already rich, more than anyone! He attains the unknown, and if, demented, he finally loses the understanding of his visions, he will at least have seen them! So what if he is destroyed in his ecstatic flight through things unheard of, unnameable: other horrible workers will come; they will begin at the horizons where the first one has fallen!”
― Arthur Rimbaud
The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times. The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all of its dimensions, and so they entrusted to future generations a charter protecting the right of all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning. When new insight reveals discord between the Constitution’s central protections and a received legal stricture, a claim to liberty must be addressed. -Justice Kennedy
How does the following quote from a letter written by poet Arthur Rimbaud relate to the ideas presented in the cave/matrix texts?
“A poet makes himself a visionary through a long, boundless, and systematized disorganization of all the senses. All forms of love, of suffering, of madness; he searches himself, he exhausts within himself all poisons, and preserves their quintessences. Unspeakable torment, where he will need the greatest faith, a superhuman strength, where he becomes all men the great invalid, the great criminal, the great accursed--and the Supreme Scientist! For he attains the unknown! Because he has cultivated his soul, already rich, more than anyone! He attains the unknown, and if, demented, he finally loses the understanding of his visions, he will at least have seen them! So what if he is destroyed in his ecstatic flight through things unheard of, unnameable: other horrible workers will come; they will begin at the horizons where the first one has fallen!”
― Arthur Rimbaud
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Journal Response Assignment
Write a 3 paragraph response to the following prompt. This is an in-class writing assignment. It is written in journal format, so a first person narrative is what is expected. Reference at least 1 quote from "The Allegory of the Cave" in each paragraph. When you quote, use the identifying tag Plato writes, " ". You do not need an end citation because you will make it clear that you are referencing this work. The response should be DOUBLE SPACED, NEATLY WRITTEN, and CONTAIN A HEADER AND TITLE. It should be approximately 15 sentences in length, about a page to a page and a half written with double spacing. Do not write more than you need to; make every sentence count.
At the end of the response, draw your rendition of Plato's cave and where you think you are at this moment in time in regards to that cave. Great artistic skills are not required.
THE PROMPT
Think about "The Allegory of the Cave" in relation to your own life. What has/does imprison you, enclose you, shelter you, keep you in the dark? What is your plan to find the light, if any... or have you already done so? Think about a path to enlightenment that you have traveled, will travel, or are too scared to travel, when formulating your main idea.
Hints:
Hook the reader. Provide context for your response (in other words, introduce Plato's "Allegory," possibly even summarizing it briefly in a sentence or two). Define your terms. Include a clear thesis that uses key words from the prompt (cave, shelter, dark, enclose, light, enlighten, etc.). You can also bring in other key words here as you see fit.
Focus your response-- make it unique to your life. Be specific-- try to avoid a super vague overview. In what SPECIFIC way have you experienced the cave/light scenario? Apply it uniquely to your own life experience. No two response papers should be the same.
In the conclusion, be sure to tie your own narrative back to Plato's Allegory. How are/were you like the prisoners? What lesson can readers take from the story? How is it applicable to your life/our lives? Perhaps a creative title can help you bring your response full circle.
You may also reference The Matrix if you wish. Feel free to draw red pills & blue pills as well. :)
Grading:
Title (1)
Content Paragraph 1 (5)
Content Paragraph 2 (5)
Content Paragraph 3 (5)
3 Quotes (3)
Grammar (5)
Picture (1)
__________________
= 25 Total Points
Journal Response Assignment
Write a 3 paragraph response to the following prompt. This is an in-class writing assignment. It is written in journal format, so a first person narrative is what is expected. Reference at least 1 quote from "The Allegory of the Cave" in each paragraph. When you quote, use the identifying tag Plato writes, " ". You do not need an end citation because you will make it clear that you are referencing this work. The response should be DOUBLE SPACED, NEATLY WRITTEN, and CONTAIN A HEADER AND TITLE. It should be approximately 15 sentences in length, about a page to a page and a half written with double spacing. Do not write more than you need to; make every sentence count.
At the end of the response, draw your rendition of Plato's cave and where you think you are at this moment in time in regards to that cave. Great artistic skills are not required.
THE PROMPT
Think about "The Allegory of the Cave" in relation to your own life. What has/does imprison you, enclose you, shelter you, keep you in the dark? What is your plan to find the light, if any... or have you already done so? Think about a path to enlightenment that you have traveled, will travel, or are too scared to travel, when formulating your main idea.
Hints:
Hook the reader. Provide context for your response (in other words, introduce Plato's "Allegory," possibly even summarizing it briefly in a sentence or two). Define your terms. Include a clear thesis that uses key words from the prompt (cave, shelter, dark, enclose, light, enlighten, etc.). You can also bring in other key words here as you see fit.
Focus your response-- make it unique to your life. Be specific-- try to avoid a super vague overview. In what SPECIFIC way have you experienced the cave/light scenario? Apply it uniquely to your own life experience. No two response papers should be the same.
In the conclusion, be sure to tie your own narrative back to Plato's Allegory. How are/were you like the prisoners? What lesson can readers take from the story? How is it applicable to your life/our lives? Perhaps a creative title can help you bring your response full circle.
You may also reference The Matrix if you wish. Feel free to draw red pills & blue pills as well. :)
Grading:
Title (1)
Content Paragraph 1 (5)
Content Paragraph 2 (5)
Content Paragraph 3 (5)
3 Quotes (3)
Grammar (5)
Picture (1)
__________________
= 25 Total Points