Platos Allegory of the Cave - Its Importance in Todays World Essay

Platos Allegory of the Cave - Its Importance in Todays institutionOur society so values education that sociologists have recognized the caper of all over-education (Hadjicostandi). Many people are spending years prosecute degrees which they entirely do not need for the jobs they perform. It is therefore prudent for students to question whether pursuing a liberal education is really as substantial as our society believes. What is the point of a college education? Does it have any nominate beyond its material benefits. Are these benefits worth their cost? These are important questions that need answering. In the end, we may slang that there is far much to this debate than simple accounting. Perhaps what makes education worth pursuing is that it gives us the freedom to makes these kinds of decisions closely what is best for us.In many ways, this debate over education has its roots in the writings of Plato (Jowett). In Book vii of The Republic, Plato discusses such topics as e nlightenment, epistemology, forms, and the duties of philosophers. The rhetorical styles which he employ are those of the intercourse and the apologue. The dialogue takes the form of a discussion between Socrates and Glaucon, while the allegory serves as a concrete illustration of the abstract ideas which Plato talks about (Jacobus, 444). Let us examine this Allegory of the Cave in more detail. In it, Plato asks the reader to imagine human beings living in an hush-hush den. where they have been from childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and there is a low jetty. with men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues a... ...nough to catch a glimpse of the light shinning at the give tongue to of the cave. When he has once seen the light, he will immediately embark upon a lifelong journey to reach it. Works CitedHadjicostandi, Joanna. Mod ule 13 bringing up and Medicine. Introduction to Sociology. 1 May, 2006. .Jacobus, lee A. A World of Ideas. 7th mutation Boston Bedford/St. Martins. 2006. Plato. The Apology of Socrates. The Internet Classics Archive. Retrieved 2 May, 2006. .Plato. The Republic. Trans. Jowett, Benjamin. Cleveland, Ohio 1946.Plato. 2006. Wikimedia. Retrieved 1 May, 2006. . Platos Allegory of the Cave. 2006 Reference.com. Retrieved 1 May, 2006. .The Matrix. Dir. The Wachowski Brothers. Perf. Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne. 20th Century Fox, 1991.Thoreau, Henry D. A World of Ideas. 7th Edition. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston Bedford/St. Martins. 2006.