The Allegory of the Cave

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Philosophy (Plato) Mind Map on The Allegory of the Cave, created by ellen.harrison on 17/02/2014.
ellen.harrison
Mind Map by ellen.harrison, updated more than 1 year ago
ellen.harrison
Created by ellen.harrison about 10 years ago
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Resource summary

The Allegory of the Cave
  1. 1. Starts with a cave, underground, with a passageway towards the light outside
    1. 2. Inside the cave there are people, kept prisoner since childhood. Chained together facing the back of the cave.
      1. 3. The people are chained in such a way that they cannot move, only look forward. Above and behind them is a large fire, only source of light
        1. 4. There is a walkway, in front of which is a low wall, people walking along walkway holding various objects
          1. Statues
            1. Silhouettes of animals, people and plants
            2. 5. Some of the people talk to one another, voices echoed and distorted. The objects are flickering shadows on the wall
              1. All that the prisoners see and hear, are indistinct voices and shadows , this is all they have ever seen and heard and all they talk about
              2. 6. One day, prisoner is freed from chains, compelled to stand, turn around and look towards the fire, brightness of fire is so much that he cannot see anything else
                1. When eyes adjust, finds it difficult to believe that the things behind him are more real than the shadows and want to go back to where he was
                2. 7. Pushed further by something (someone). Dragged up steep, rough slope up to entrance of cave
                  1. 8. Compelled to look at brightness outside - painful. eyes become accustomed to brightness. First he looks at shadows of the objects, then their reflections in water and then the objects themselves
                    1. 9. Realises that the sun gives light to everything in the world. then thinks about existence left behind in cave, now feels compelled to go back to help them
                      1. 10. Going back in to cave, prisoner finds it difficult to see his surroundings, because of darkness, he cant see the shadows as well as he could before
                        1. 11. Stands in front of prisoners, tries to talk to them about reality of world he has seen outside the cave. prisoners laugh at him because he can no longer see the shadows as clearly. They say that if someone tries to free them they will kill him
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