柏拉图的《理想国》试图说明我们的本性在多大程度上可以被启蒙或被启蒙。柏拉图在与一个叫格劳孔的熟人的讨论中，敦促他想象人们生活在一种类似地下洞穴的房间里，有一个通向光明的入口，沿着洞穴有一条长长的通道。这些人从小就留在这里，被一条腿和一条脖子拴住。这些人不能移动，只能看到他们前面的东西。在高处，有一团火在他们后面燃烧，在火和俘虏之间，有一道矮墙。这是用来隐藏表演者谁显示他们的木偶沿胸墙顶部。在女儿墙后面，有许多人拿着各种各样的人造物品，包括用木头或石头雕刻的人和动物的雕像以及各种各样的其他材料。这些物体投射在矮墙上方。有些人在说话，而另一些人保持沉默。根据柏拉图的理论，被囚禁的囚犯看不到自己或他人的任何东西，除了一点从他们身边掠过的洞穴阴影。他们也只会提到所说的影子。从各方面来看，囚犯们都认为现实不过是那些人造物体的影子。柏拉图接着要求我们思考，如果一个囚犯被从锁链中释放出来，会发生什么。那个囚犯将被迫站起来，直立行走，眼睛直视着灯光。所有这些动作对这个囚犯来说都是痛苦的。囚犯也会被这个“外部世界”所存在的一切所迷惑，去注意是什么物体一直在制造幻觉和阴影。如果有人告诉他，他以前所看到的只是一种毫无意义的幻觉，而现在实际上比以前更接近现实，那么这个囚犯就很难相信了。如果有人真的给他看了各种各样的东西，并告诉他每个东西是什么，囚犯会感到困惑，可能会认为，给他看的大多数东西都不是真的，而他以前看到的是。
加拿大留学生代写论文:被囚禁的囚犯
Plato’s Republic tries to illustrate the degrees in which our nature can be enlightened or unenlightened. Plato in a discussion with an acquaintance by the name Glaucon, urges him to imagine the condition of men living in a sort of cavernous chamber underground, with an entrance open to the light and a long passage all down the cave. Here the men have remained since childhood, chained by the leg and by the neck. The men cannot move and can only see what is in front of them. At a high distance up there is a light of a fire burning behind them, between said fire and the prisoners there is a parapet built along it. This is used to hide the performers who show their puppets along the top of the parapet. Behind the parapet, there are a number of people carrying various artificial objects, including figures of men and animals in wood or stone and various other materials. There objects are projected above the parapet. Some of the persons are talking while others remain silent.According to Plato the prisoners confined would see nothing of themselves or others except for a bit of the cave shadows carried past. They would also only speak in reference to said shadows. In every way, the prisoners would recognize reality as nothing but the shadows of those artificial objects. Plato then asks us to consider what would happen if one of the prisoners was released from their chains and set free. That prisoner would be forced to have to stand up, walk upright, and walk with his eyes directed towards the light. All these movements would be painful to said prisoner. The prisoner would also be dazzled by all that existed in this “outside world” to notice what objects had been making the illusions and shadows all along. If someone told him that what he had formerly had seen was a meaningless illusion and was actually now nearer to reality then before, it would be extremely difficult for the prisoner to believe. If someone actually showed him the various objects being carried and told what each of them was, the prisoner would be perplexed and would probably believe that most of the objects shown to him were not real and what he formerly saw was.
