Plato's Allegory of the Cave

1. The allegory of  the cave represents intellectual and philosophical imprisonment.
2. The key elements in the imagery are the amount of shackles used (hands, neck, and feet) which shows how entirely binding and inescapable this imprisonment really is and then the brightness of the light outside of the cave represents this climatic enlightenment of both ideals and spirituality.
3. When one refuses to consider the possibilities outside of one's reality they are refusing to be educated and enlightened by truth.
4. That unless you "broaden your horizons" you are no more educated than a caveman. The cave represents the walls of our minds which are only as thick as we believe them to be while the shackles represent the item of choice by which we imprison ourselves by.
5. Things that shackle my mind are yellow journalism and politics. With journalism becoming more a source of entertainment than information I must infinitely question whether or not what I am being fed is constructive or toxic and politics are showing the same characteristics. Politics have always been a source of debate that intrigued me greatly but that does not mean it leaves me without questions. I mentally shackle myself to believe politics have become more of a game than a beneficial the commonwealth of society and the only way I can free myself is by finding enlightenment.
6. The freed prisoner has had the blessing of having the perspective of fiction and fact. He is able to challenge his beliefs and find that what was once real is now false, but for the cave prisoners reality is nothing more than distorted voices and shadows on the wall.
7. Lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways: When one is inexperienced in something or when one refuses to accept/learn something...or a combination of the two.
8. According to the allegory, the cave prisoners are not free when they are released from the shackles but when they accept that there is more to life than shadows on the wall. This suggests that the only way one can find intellectual freedom is when one accepts that there is more to reality than we or our neighbors can perceive.
9. I agree that there is a distinction between appearances and reality because if a person acquires intellectual freedom they are able to "read between the lines" and find deeper meanings and differences within reality.
10. Assuming that Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, two metaphysical assumptions are that what we see is what is fact therefore any and all information i see is fact because there is no distinction in appearances and reality...and second is that the only reality is no reality because each person has disassociated themselves from the consensus of reality and is now dealing with their own perception.

Here's some helpful videos and info that can help in understanding the applications of this allegory and summarize it.

The Cave Claymation
The Invention of Lying
The Matrix and The Cave