Societys Cave essays

Society's Cave essays No matter who you ask, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau or any other great philosopher they will always tell you that Plato was and always will be the greatest philosopher. Plato is known for great thoughts and feeling about the government and the way their social and political issues are handled. He used a very effective and intelligent way of writing his thoughts. He used a technique of exoteric and esoteric writing. The exoteric level being a level that everyone could understand and the esoteric level was only comprehended by the intelligent. By doing this he protected himself from the government. He learned from Socrates whose life was ended when the government had enough of his ridicule and rebellions. Plato was much smarter and got his point across without the government ever knowing. For example, Platos "Allegory of the Cave" from The Republic, which was a childrens story about a cave, but it also had a esoteric meaning that was letting the intelligent know what the government was doin g. Platos technique has been effectively repeat many times and his messages apply to many of the current issues in todays society. The exoteric level of the story, which comprehended by most, is about an underground cave which is pitch black except for a dim fire. There are some men bound by the neck and ankles, totally restricting movement, in the bottom of the cave. They have been faced towards the wall of the cave and all they can see is the flickering light from the fire behind them. Occasionally they can see the faint shadows of other men standing in front of the fire. The men can also hear their voices echo off the wall which they are facing. The sounds and visions that the men hear and see are both false, they are not the actual thing. The echoes are reflecting off the wall as well as the shadows that they are seeing. One man finally breaks free and makes his way up the cave, it is a hard and long climb but he makes it out. ...