Plato Study Questions

Here are your study questions.  Feel free to comment with questions or ideas. (Online original here; thanks to Professor Michael Sudduth of San Francisco State.)

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
It represents that you are the captive of your own soul. YOu are the prisoner of your own jail. Without asking questions or trying to understand the unknown, you will have no freedom, you will be imprisoned.

2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
The cave represents a place of insolence, the shackles represent filters, and the shadows represent consepts ideas.

3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
For education we have been raise to do what we are told, to keep our own work to oursleves, not to collaborate not to seek help from other. To be trapped in our own world where we are unable to express what we truly believe.
4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
The have been raised to know just the "shackles" and just the "cave", they know no other ways, they know not of the outside world. They are not interested in what could be and they don't try to figure it out and see the truth of what is.
5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
Things that may "shackle" the mind could be a easily going to school or doing your homework. We have been trained to do these things, this is what we know.
6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
The perspective of the freed prisoner compared to the cave prisoners has change drastically. The freed prisoner now knows the truth of the world he is from and is able to see the outside world may be scary but it holds many good things.
7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
When at first the prisoner leaves the cave, then when he re-enters.
8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
They simply have to want to find the truth, they have to want to see what is actual reality.
9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Yes, represented in the shadows that were created. They were appearances that were the prisoners realities. But by choosing to refuse that the appearances weren't the reality the prisoner was able to become free.
10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
I think that an alternate would be if reality was to be based off of our intuition. Therefore what we think, how we act, and what we want can all be related together with what our lifestyle is like. Also assumptions can be made and lead us toward different paths, but it's still our decision to be who we are and continue learning the unknown.