In today's world, religion is one of the most important things that influence the way a person lives their life. Whether it's waiting until marriage to have sex or deciding not to murder that coworker who always steals lunches, many people have their own religion that guides their actions and lifestyle. When examined on a global or universal scale, religion can be described as a set of ideals that aim at the follower's specific view of perfection. They attempt to live in a way that, if successful, would eventually result in a utopian society. Even though these people understand that they will never achieve their goal, it is still their duty to do their best. This concept of perfection is present in Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, but in slightly different forms. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The main idea that Plato was trying to make was that humanity should try to acquire as much education as possible, even though it is obvious that they will never have perfect knowledge of everything in the world. He explains ignorance as a person chained in a cave with no idea of ​​what is outside, or even that the outside exists. But if that person were to be dragged into the light of the sun, what pain that brightness would cause him. “He will suffer severe pain; the dazzle will destabilize him and he will be unable to see… that what he saw before was only an illusion” (Plato 1236). This is what it means to realize how little a person knows, and it's embarrassing and terribly confusing. But after a while, how great would be their joy to see the light of the sun and everything that is happening on Earth. And even though this information is only a basic level of understanding, there are still so many things they can't even begin to understand, like gravity or the Earth's rotation. But now that they're out in the open, the possibilities are endless for what they can learn and accomplish. And this is not even enough to understand what would happen if the entire population had this knowledge, and in reality everyone has access to it. So why does society benefit from ignorance? The answer lies in the pain they must endure as they realize how little they know and are plunged into the blinding light of overwhelming knowledge. People are either completely unaware of what is happening or they are too afraid of what they will have to go through to access the information, and the absurdity of this idea is highlighted in Plato's allegory. So, it is the duty of those who have already experienced pain to bring the rest of humanity to light, however difficult it may be. Plato explains that teaching the ignorant is not a simple task because they “have become accustomed to the surrounding darkness” (Plato 1237). Society, if it is wrong, will start screaming until it understands that light brings much more than darkness, and only then will it begin to change. This is the reason behind Thoreau's work, people simply need to be educated on this subject. the problems of slavery and the evils of government. Which leads to the main difference between the two pieces; No one can ever achieve perfection in knowledge, but Thoreau believes that humanity might one day achieve a level of perfection in.