Allegory Of The Cave Essay Research Paper

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Allegory Of The Cave Essay, Research Paper Allegory of the Cave In Books II and III of The Republic, Socrates sets the stage for a view of education for the warriors in the culture, asserting a need for the study of different disciplines, including art and athletics. Though this provides a sense of Plato’s perspective on education, his outlining of educational premises in Book VII, including his view of rational though, education, and the responsibilities of both the student and the teacher in his “Allegory of the Cave” defines a call for a curriculum in education based on the directives and significance of the student, and can be asserted as the foundations of modern liberal arts educational philosophies. In order to understand the different views on education provided

by Plato, it is first necessary to consider the messages provided in Book II, Book III and Book VII. Plato initiates his discourse on education through the dialogue of Glaucon, Adeimantus and Socrates and their perspective on the appropriate education of the guardians of any polis. The warriors, soldiers or guardians of a city are a separate class of people, and distinguished by their knowledge and deduction to the central elements of society. Because of their distinctions and their need to understand wisdom and make appropriate and “educated” choices, the education of the guardians is a necessary component in defining self-protection. It is Socrates’ (and therefore Plato’s) assertion that there is a need to educate the guardians in musical and physical areas, and to

promote a correlation between participation as a warrior and educational prowess. In other words, it was Socrates’ contention that it was not enough to simply educate a guardian in warfare, but instead, their role necessitates an understanding of other premises, including history, song, art, philosophy and even literature. It is also Plato’s assertion in the last segment of Book II that one of the failings of society is the fact that myths of valor and feats of strength clearly impact the conduct of guardians, and that there is a need to demonstrate that the warriors are not simply blood-thirsty war-mongers, but instead have the capacity for rational thought and for the development of a wide variety of personal characteristics. Book II of Plato’s Republic begins with the

assumption of the necessity for the education of the guardians but takes this argument further by demonstrating the benefits of physical and musical training. It is Plato’s assertion that these are necessary in order to determine that the warriors, the guardians of the city are actually true and virtuous. As a component of the arguments for education in the guardian class, Plato also suggests that the man cannot be assumed to be truly wise or to have the capacity for effective decision making if he cannot comprehend basic aesthetic virtues like beauty as well as more complex issues like morality. The guardians of any ideal city, then would demonstrate their capacity for instilling virtue in others and directing the course of their own actions to maintain this premise. In

conjunction, Plato asserts the need for a moral education of the guardians in order to determine the capacity of guardians to instill morality in others. In Book VI, Plato sets the premise for his argument for education in his determinations regarding the soul, the search for truth and the pursuit of intelligence. The most substantive view of the correlation between Plato’s premises and modern educational philosophies can be seen in Book VII, when Socrates presents the “Allegory of the Cave”. This story, provides and outlines the role of both the teacher and the student. Socrates’ message begins in the idea that individuals can develop within surroundings that are so limited that they have know way of experiencing truth outside of what they can directly perceive, and this