The answers to the questions raised in the previous session about “The Allegory of the Cave” will be presented here.
CommonLit Guide To The Allegory Of The Cave
All except the most obscure query should have an answer in the list below.
Question 1 (Part A): Which of the following best summarizes the central argument of this text?
True knowledge may only be gained by challenging one’s preconceived notions.
For Part B of this question, which textual quote best backs up the selection made for Part A?
The correct answer is (a) “what he saw previously was an illusion, but that now, he is moving nearer to being and his sight is focused towards more true existence, he has clearer vision.”
What do you think? Q3: What do you think the discussion between Socrates and Glaucon adds to the text?
By providing insightful responses to Glaucon’s inquiries, Socrates demonstrates the intrinsic value of education.
Paragraph 33’s “Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes” raises the question: what does this phrase mean?
Answer: People who seek information are insecure and blind to how others see them.
Assuming you have read paragraph 35, please explain how Socrates explains the allegory he is using.
Socrates explains the allegory’s significance by outlining the story’s symbolic elements. He invents a rationale for the story’s happenings, giving them deeper significance.
Conversation Starters with Solutions
How much of a jail or cave do you think ignorance is? What does it mean to be “in the dark” about something? Why might it be detrimental to have less information?
Answer: A person’s perspective remains unchanged due to ignorance. Unless you have the information to convince them otherwise, their opinion won’t alter.
If people are resistant to new information, why is that? For what purpose do cave dwellers continue to live underground?
Some people may be reluctant to learn the truth because they worry it would alter their perspective on life or a particular issue.
Question 3: What is the point of schooling according to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave? Where do you see your current coursework taking you in the future?
In this novel, education does not so much prepare us for the world as it does for the shadows and the way they alter our perceptions of it.
Fourthly, the cave represents a state of mind of ignorance. People in the cave are no more aware of their surroundings than a fish is of the fact that it lives in water. Is it possible that our current understanding of certain phenomena represents a shift from earlier times? Give some examples of “caves” in the modern world and throughout history. Science and human rights are two good places to start.
It’s common for folks to think everyone is straight unless they find out otherwise. We’ve become better about not assuming things, but the older generation is still prone to doing so. They don’t understand the full range of sexual identities, in my opinion.
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