Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave illustrates how human perception can be limited. Prisoners are chained inside a cave, only able to see shadows cast on a wall by objects behind them, believing these shadows are reality. When one prisoner breaks free and sees the outside world, he realizes the shadows were mere illusions, and true knowledge lies beyond immediate perception. Upon returning to the cave, he struggles to convince others, symbolizing how enlightenment requires stepping beyond familiar assumptions to grasp deeper truths about reality and knowledge.