Plato envisioned a world of true forms, separate from the world that most humans perceive. In “Republic,” he describes an ideal society, and in it he has Socrates tell a parable that explains his theory about the nature of reality itself. Frequently read on its own as “The Allegory of the Cave,” the parable illustrates Plato’s theories and the responsibilities of philosophers.
Socrates describes prisoners chained in a cave, only able to look in a fixed direction inside the cave. They cannot turn, much less exit the cave, so all they see are shadows projected onto the wall in front of them. They naturally mistake these shadows for the real persons and objects that cast them. The shadows represent the everyday world that humans mistake for reality. Socrates goes on to suppose what would happen to a prisoner released from his chains. At first, he would not understand that, having taken shadows for reality, he now saw the real people and objects; it would take time to become accustomed to the light of fire and, eventually, the sun. Returning to his former companions, this enlightened man is like a philosopher, trying to convey to the deluded prisoners that there is a reality behind the shadows, and -- even more incredible -- a reality beyond the cave itself. Returning to the cave is distasteful, and the former prisoner may seem ridiculous to the prisoners, but Plato asserts that it is incumbent upon him to return, to bring to the others the truth. Plato intends for philosophers to do the same in the real world, to share their insights about the intangible reality of forms.
- University of Washington, Philosophy 320, the History of Philosophy: The Allegory of the Cave; S. Marc Cohen
- The Internet Journal of the International Plato Society: The Allegory of the Cave, the Necessity of the Philosopher’s Descent; Georgia Mouroutsou
- World Transformation Movement: A Species in Denial, Deciphering Plato’s Cave Allegory and in the Process Explaining How the Human Condition is Resolved; Jeremy Griffith
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