Allegory Of The Cave: Process Of Improving Human Race

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Allegory of the Cave
The human race is in a continuous process of improving itself due to its transcending nature. This characteristic pushes the soul to think on the virtues thus the philosophical thoughts. These philosophical thoughts will only occur if the people have been through the education process as explained by Plato. Although Plato argues that "the power and capacity of learning exist in the soul already," he acknowledges the fact that education is a gradual process. This education process involves various levels that an individual cannot accomplish in one time. According to his predecessor, Socrates, giving the youths philosophical education is important to their age. Most importantly, there should be different teachers to guide the individuals through the various levels of the education process.
Primarily, Plato's claim on education can be described through various concepts which are explained in work The Republic. According to Socrates, the education process is divided into four categories with each having its mode of thoughts in different ways. Socrates said, "at any rate, we are satisfied, as before, to have four divisions; two for intellect and two for opinion, and to call the first division science, the second understanding, the third belief, and the fourth perception of shadows" (525). All of these divisions have different concepts of reasoning. Being a student of Socrates, Plato draws much of his work and concepts from those of his teacher. According to Socrates, through the education process, it is possible to achieve the objectives of education for absolute good. However, this cannot be achieved without mastering the four levels as explained by Plato.
Regardless of their backgrounds, all individuals begin the educational process in what Socrates terms as the fourth level, the perception of images. In this level, the mode of thought is Imagining. All conclusions made are only based on images, which are reflections of real objects. These images are not equal to reality causing a disorder to the soul. Therefore, the fourth level is a necessary beginning in the education process. Learning is a gradual process that consists small achievements instead of large accomplishments. It is necessary for people to perceive their surroundings through imaginations before they can see sea good and absolute truth. After mastering the fourth level, the individual will then transition to the next level.
In his attempt to explain how the human or political troubles can be solved, Plato explains that this troubles can only be solved if the society is ruled by kings or rulers with philosophical integrity. As he continues to remind us, this kind of rulers can be produced by a careful and systematic education. It is through the concerns of this education that Plato advocated for the allegory of the cave was composed. In this essay, I will primarily focus on the cave image and try to explain its impact on education.
Plato uses the cave image as an allegory to explain education or lack of it in people. The picture he creates of prisoners chained facing the walls of the cave and are unable to turn their heads enables us to understand what education is. The prisoners cannot see what is behind ...