Blog 2

Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave" begins with Socrates opening the imagination of Glaucon, by depicting a scenario of Humans that have been living in a den since their adolescence. All their lives these people have been chained from their legs and neck, solely allowing them to face a wall lighted by fire from behind them . On these walls are images of puppets which are carrying various objects such as vessels and animals and from the background are echoes that bounce off of the walls. Socrates explains to Glaucon they cannot comprehend sounds, but the images they can see for there selves before them.

Socrates continues to describe to Glaucon the prisoners being released from their chains and having the initial urge of wanting to stand and walk around. When the prisoners approach the light, they are overwhelmed from the light of the sun and become quickly afflicted with pain and anxiety.  When they have clarity of their new reality and are questioned of the objects around them, they become uncomfortable with the unfamiliar. Socrates proposes the question whether or not they would want to return to the shadows on the wall they've been accustomed to their whole lives? He continues to go into depth as to how the prisoners would slowly adapt to their new world continously referring back to the shadows that reminded them of their old life. If the prisoner was to return to the den would he recall everything that was understood from living in dark for so long or would the teachings of his new reality allow him to forget his past?

Socrates explains to Glaucon that the allegory of his scenario is that soceity is consumed by the belief that our reality is made up by what we are told, living in a cave ourselves and not necesarily by our senses. If they obtained the knowledge available from our senses then our minds would be opened intellectually with the proper effort. Glaucon ultimately agrees to an extent.