Plato’s Allegory
Plato is known today as one of the greatest philosophers of all time, allowing him a prominent place in the history of philosophy. To fully appreciate Plato's ideas and viewpoint, it is important to understand his contributions to rationalism and his perception of human knowing. It is also essential to know and appreciate how his Allegory of the Cave depicts rationalism and human knowing, and parallels Christian thought. Finally, comparing and contrasting Plato’s worldview with that of his students Aristotle will provide a broader understanding of rationalism and human knowing, and Plato’s allegory.
Plato made many important contributions to philosophy as well as to the rationalist tradition. Rationalism is the philosophy that knowledge is acquired by reason without resort to experience (Princeton, n.d.). The first thing Plato taught was that our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience (Stanford, 2004). This teaching does not resonate with me, and I believe that while this may apply to some people, it does not apply to everyone—including myself. The second element he argued is that reason is superior to sense perception because sensation is incapable of providing the necessary elements which are present in knowledge (Nash, 1999). I partially agree with the reasoning of this element; however, I do believe that intuition—a sensory experience—can trump knowledge at times. Sometimes you may not have the knowledge to understand a situation, but you have the feeling that something is awry. In my opinion, this is an example of sense experience providing knowledge. Plato’s philosophy of rationalism led him to think in terms of hierarchy--putting reason at the top, and sense perception at the bottom. Again, I believe that the hierarchy may work for some people, but not for everyone.
Aristotle had quite a different view on rationalism, and was an empiricist as opposed to his teacher Plato. Empiricists believe that sense experience is the ultimate source of all our concepts and knowledge (Stanford, 2004). Aristotle recognized the difference between reason and sense experience; however, his account of human knowledge is far more complex. He regarded both reason and sensation has integral parts of the knowing process (Nash, 1999). Aristotle’s views on human knowing are more in sync with my beliefs and what I see in my day-to-day life. It is more logical that human knowing results in a combination of knowledge and experience.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is regarded as one of the most important passages in all of Plato’s writings (Nash, 1999). Through detailed description, Plato invites his readers to imagine a cave--built in such a way that prisoners are forced to live their life isolated from truth and reality. The cave has many levels, and if a prisoner were to escape, he would realize that the world he was forced to see was not the only world that exists. Part of what the prisoners saw in the cave were shadows that mimicked objects. According to Plato, the things that are ordinarily perceived in the world are characterized as shadows of the real things, which are not perceived directly (Stanford, 2004). Each level of the cave represents a Form, which illustrates the different levels of human awareness. The lowest Forms relate to sense experiences and the highest Form is the Good. Plato considered the Good as things humans should know including Truth, Beauty and Justice (Nash, 1999). The allegory is a metaphorical interpretation of the human race and our limitations to physical particulars. Plato believed that each human being perceives a physical world that is but a poor imitation of a more real world (Nash, 1999). In my opinion, The Allegory of the Cave is a depiction of rationalism since it involves knowledge through reason, not experience. The prisoners in the cave are without the ability to have experiences; therefore, the only knowledge they can gain is through reasoning. There reasoning is broken down into levels based on what they are able to believe and see at the time. As prisoners they are trapped in the lowest Form, but once free they can realize the highest Form of the Good.
The Allegory of the Cave directly correlates to Christian thought concerning heaven and earth. The core Christian belief is that through belief in and acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life (Metzger/Coogan, n.d.). The acceptance of an eternal life beyond that of our everyday mundane lives is what Christians regard as a more real world. Just like the prisoners in the cave, we believe that one day we will be free from this life and ascend to the sun with God and the Angels.
Aristotle’s worldview discarded Plato’s idea of Forms. He rejected the abstract Platonic notion of form and argued that every sensible object consists of both matter and form, neither of which can exist without the other (form, 2011). This is another instance where Aristotle’s philosophy is more in line with my realm of understanding. It is reasonable to understand that matter is what an object is or substance is made of, while form is the properties that make the object what it is. Aristotle believed that every being, with the exception of God, is made of form and matter. He described the matter as our bodies and the form as our soul. I wholeheartedly believe that my body is only matter, but the form is my soul, which will someday ascend into the sun to live an eternal life with God.

References form. (2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved January 24, 2011from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/213675/form>
Metzger/Coogan, Oxford Companion to the Bible, pp. 513, 649.
Nash, Ronald H. 1999. Life’s Ultimate Questions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Princeton.edu (n.d.) Retrieved January 24, 2011, from <http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=rationalism>
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2004. Rationalism vs. Empiricism. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism/>