so here's what i think

"Allegory of the cave"


is a metaphor for our early lives. as children we start off as "prisoners" knowing nothing and believing everything we see. the shadows represent all that is unreal (television, entertainment, etc.) an image that is cast by the fire is the truth behind it all and the cave is what shields us from reality. socrates was basically saying that we're programmed stuck, dazed and amazed by the illusion we perceive as reality. reality is right next us the fire behind the prisoners is a mockery of our inability to truely see. he questions that if one had the ability to be freed from his chains (which are an illusion too by the way) and look behind ourself to see the truth, to see that the image itself is an illusion itself created by something greater would they recognize it?. how could we know if all we been doing is staring at a shadow? its by this moment we take the illusion in as reality. but what if we were released what if we turned our heads and stared at the fire? we would be blinded by the truth and see it as if it were unreal.