Philosophy: Allegory of the Caves - Essay Example

At their back are puppeteers, a representation of establishments that are casting shadows on the wall, where the prisoners can now experience the actual form of reality. They are inherently mistaken for reality. This is because the puppeteers behind the prisoners are using objects to cast shadows in front of the prisoners who are cannot turn back their heads as a form of reality to them.

The prisoner is forced to face the fire after being released and the objects that to him once dictated reality to him, now show forms of reality that are accepted. This development indicates that what is perceived to be real ever since we are born is untrue based on the grounds of imperfect interpretations or reflections of reality (Gaarder 81). This Allegory is a representation of a complex model in which we travel in our lives to reach an understanding of reality. The progress in the development of humans represents our own path to finish the awareness in which reality and the false will reach.

The story presents a special view in which reality plays in our lives, and how a person understands. Mankind is stuck in the cave through their own ignorance, believing that what is before them is reality. They do not seek the knowledge of their senses but instead, look beyond their senses to find the underlying causes of things. Part B Rene Descartes presented the idea that he could not trust his senses and that all he thought to be existing should be doubted. He gave three examples of his skepticism.

First, is the deception of the senses as they deceive him, the deception of a dream which he termed as false experience, and lastly, the deception of God as an evil demon that is able to trick him as to whether what he experienced is real. Although many philosophers have found skeptical arguments false, I think the dreaming argument can stand out to be real. It discredits sensory beliefs. So the dream argument is skeptical. For example, one may lie in bed and get convinced that they are having a party with friends when indeed they are lying in bed.

Another example that needs more interpretation is when one is dreaming about being chased by demons. They scream at the top of their voice seeking help, while indeed, they are just lying in bed and screaming in bed. Even if the dream made the person scream for real, there is no proof that they were running in a dark bush chased by demons.