Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Question 1: Describe how the people in the cave are situated in Plato’s parable. Why can’t they move their legs or necks to take a look around? What is the only thing they are capable of seeing? What is their only source of light. Answer: There are prisoners who have lived their entire lives chained inside a cave. Behind the prisoners are a fire and people who are carrying puppets or other objects. These cast shadows, believing this to be their reality as they’ve known nothing else. Question 2: What are the stages of the liberated prisoner’s experience outside the cave? Answer: When one prisoner becomes free, he finally sees the fire and realizes the shadows are fake. He discovered a whole new world outside that they were completely unaware of. Outside, he believes, is far more real than inside the cave. Question 3: What do these prisoners trapped in the cavern believe is real? Answer: These prisoners trapped in the cavern believe that the shadows are real, and they believe that the