Plato Allegory of the Cave

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Name: Kathy Cramer Discussion of The Allegory of the Cave Please answer all ten questions. Background - Handout Plato in a Nutshell and your text. Future assignments, like your first, will include you exploring background information as part of the assignment. 1. Write down the definition of allegory and cite the dictionary that you used. The definition of allegory is the expression through symbolism of truths or generalizations about human experiences. (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition) Understanding. To help you understand the meaning of this allegory, answer the questions below. I encourage you to do some additional research from the Online Supplementary Materials on WebStudy or Manor’s library to help you answer questions 3 through 10. Remember that you need to do this extra research to earn an “A”. Be sure to cite the research! 2. Read pp. 139 (begin with Book VII) - 143 once. Look up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary. Write the definitions below. Cite the dictionary you used. a. Homer – is the author of Iliad and the Odyssey which were two great epic poems of ancient Greece. (www.britannica.com) b. Perpetual – continuing forever. c. Phenomena – an observable fact or event. d. Realm – kingdom. e. Serf – a member of a servile class bound to the land and subject to the will of the land owner. (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition) 3. In the opening statement of the allegory on p. 139, Plato gives the main idea in the following statement: "Next, I said, compare the effect of education and of the lack of it on our nature to an experience like this:” Paraphrase (write in your own words) that quote. “Subsequently, I said, evaluate the effect of education and the shortage of it on our

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