The Allegory Because of how we live, true reality is not obvious to most of us. However, we mistake what we see and hear for reality and truth. This is the basic premise for Plato's Allegory of the Cave, in which prisoners sit in a cave, chained down, watching images cast on the wall in front of them. They accept these views as reality and they are unable to grasp their overall situation: the cave and images are a ruse, a mere shadow show orchestrated for them by unseen men. At some point, a prisoner is set free and is forced to see the situation inside the cave. Initially, one does not want to give up the security of his or her familiar reality; the person has to be dragged past the fire and up the entranceway. This is a difficult
This roadway depicts the path used to deliver whatever message it is that the leaders previously mentioned want delivered. The Internet and television both are very profitable sources for these men. If someone hears on the news that there was a war going on in the Middle East, than they would believe it. Without ever personally viewing the war, and having no proven facts, only the television, most people would believe it.
Above and behind the prisoners is a fire burning, the power source of the shadows. This is any institution supporting the men who deceive us. The government is supporting George Bush, and other politicians; it is the source of the ideas that are pushed upon us.
The shadows on the wall are what the prisoners mistake for truth, reality, here in this world it is the actual ideas that the men advance on us. Going to war is a shadow we mistake for truth, and justice. Are we truly just in reacting with the actions we did, is "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" still relevant today? Most don't question this; they instead accept it as it is given to them.
Plato describes the Good as having power, energy, just as the sun has the power to warm our skin. He sees the Good as the source of beauty, right, reason, and truth. The Good is courage and strength, values that provide dependable ground for moral conduct. In this world of shadows, the