Plato's Republic is written in the form of a Socratic dialogue, with Socrates and his companions as speakers. In Book VII of Plato's Republic, he discusses the nature of reality and perception. For a normal person, reality depends on the senses. To illustrate the relationship between man and the nature of reality and perception, Plato uses the allegory of the cave. The first part talks about man's imprisonment in the cave, with the chains representing ignorance. The shadows are perceived as reality by the prisoners, in their ignorance. Prisoners are content with one facet of the reality they perceive. The second part discusses leaving the cave and the initial discomfort of seeing the light of the fire. After the initial discomfort, the person will see clearly through the light the nature of reality. Light represents truth and he who has seen it is an enlightened being. In the third part, the ex-prisoner returns to the cave and his perplexity in the face of darkness. The ex-inmate, having seen the outside world, will seek to change the prisoners' perception of reality. The prisoners will initially be reluctant to change their minds, because describing the reality beyond the cave will be incomprehensible to them. Plato then describes the ex-prisoner's arduous task of educating his fellow prisoners to guide them out of the cave. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Book X, Plato discusses the nature of truth and the rewards of justice. He uses the creation of a bed as a metaphor. The designer creates the ideal bed, the carpenter makes a bed and the painter imitates a bed. The painting created by the painter only represents one facet of the true nature of the bed. Like a mirror that only reflects, the work of the imitator can only show part of the truth. The work of the imitator is harmful because it can corrupt others. Plato goes on to discuss the immortality of the human soul and uses the concept of the corrupting and destroying element of evil, and the saving and improving element of good to prove the immortal nature of the soul. In the second part of Book X, Plato highlights the importance of living a righteous life through the rewards of justice. It posits that just and unjust actions do not go unnoticed by the gods. The gods favor the righteous and equally hate the unrighteous. To illustrate his point, he uses the story of the descent into the afterlife and the return to life of Er, the son of Armenius. When Er dies, he travels through the underworld and encounters the rewards given to the righteous and the punishments meted out to the unrighteous. At the end of the journey, souls can choose their next life. The merits of the next life must be weighed, for every life has an opportunity for corruption. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a personalized essay. Er is like a prisoner who climbed into the cave. , sees reality as it really is and returns to the cave. He recounts his journey through the underworld, serving as a guide who will lead his fellow inmates out of the cave. The ethical theory discussed in Plato's Republic is virtue ethics, which considers the goal of self-enlightenment to be paramount. The allegory of the cave illustrates the journey one must undertake to seek the true nature of reality. In virtue ethics, doing good is a consequence of knowledge. This constant quest for knowledge has been the driving force that has pushed humanity to abandon ignorance and achieve consciousness. However, this does not describe..