Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and The Matrix Essay

The Republic is considered to be one of Plato’s most storied legacies. Plato recorded many different philosophical ideals in his writings. Addressing a wide variety of topics from justice in book one, to knowledge, enlightenment, and the senses as he does in book seven. In his seventh book, when discussing the concept of knowledge, he is virtually addressing the clichà © â€Å"seeing is believing†, while attempting to validate the roots of our knowledge. By his use of philosophical themes, Plato is able to further his points on enlightenment, knowledge, and education. In this allegory, the depictions of humans as they are chained, their only knowledge of the world is what is seen inside the cave. Plato considers what would happen to people†¦show more content†¦The prisoners have been in these conditions since their earliest stages of life. The cave, the wall, and the chains are all the prisoners have ever known. Behind the prisoners, there was a raised pa th. Above the walkway was a platform, where there was a fire burning, and in front of the fire, was a parapet, which as Plato described it , was like that of the screens Puppeteers use to hide themselves and have the puppets be visible . Each and every day, the prisoners see nothing, but the shadows of the objects and people passing between them and the fire. For their entire lives, the prisoners are exposed to nothing but those images and the sounds made by those walking around. These shadows are all they have ever known, in essence; these shadows are their only â€Å"reality†. As time passed, the prisoners would grow accustomed to these sights, later on the prisoners would match the objects with names and the familiar sounds to the images of the shadows (514; Appendix A). In discussing the allegory with Glaucon, Socrates toys around the concept of what could happen to a prisoner should they be released after having lived their lives in the cave, with the only knowled ge the possess of the world, are the images and sounds by the wall. The similarities between The Cave and The Matrix are too uncanny. The description of the cave above, which is discussed in the first paragraph of Plato’s seventh book, can be portrayed similarly inShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Matrix and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave 1922 Words   |  8 Pagesand what is simply illusion brought by our subjective view of the world? But when attempting to understand the nature of our existence, about why we are here, the complexities of life often make it difficult to interpret this subject. The film The Matrix centers on this same concept that the known world is an illusion. The movies core theme of reality and illusion is definite to the humans understanding of what the true meaning of life is. 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Both of Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and the Wachoskis’ The Matrix are involved in this principles; however, they are having some similarities and differences that between their changes and their worlds. In the allegory, the people who lived in the cave is restrained with the iron ropeRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Allegory Of The Cave And The Wachoskis 912 Words   |  4 Pages In addition, the people in the allegory give up to walk out of the cave that still back to the dark. Besides in the movie, Neo found out that which the world, which he lived a long time was the in illusory world. Both of Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and the Wachoskis’ The Matrix are involved in this principle; however, they are having some similarities and differences that between their changes and their worlds. In the allegory, the people who lived in the cave is restrained with the iron rope