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Allegory of the Cave.
Biscontini, Tyler
Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature, 2018. 2p.
Article
Plato's cave (Allegory) Plato, 428-347 B.C. Socrates, ca. 469-399 B.C.
The Allegory of the Cave is a philosophical story written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. The allegory itself takes the form of a conversation between Plato's brother Glaucon and their teacher, Socrates. It was most likely intended as a metaphor for humans' progress toward understanding the true good. Plato's Allegory of the Cave is one of the most commonly discussed and highly praised works in philosophy.
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Allegory of the Cave.
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Allegory of the Cave
The Allegory of the Cave is a philosophical story written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. The allegory itself takes the form of a conversation between Plato's brother Glaucon and their teacher, Socrates. It was most likely intended as a metaphor for humans' progress toward understanding the true
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good. Plato's Allegory of the Cave is one of the most commonly discussed and highly praised works in philosophy.
Michiel Coxcie's 16th century artistic representation of Plato's cave. Michiel Coxie [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Plato's Allegory of the cave, 1604. Jan Saenredam [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Plato and Socrates
Plato was born about 428 B.C.E. in Athens, Greece. He spent much of his early life studying under Socrates. Collectively, the two are often credited with founding western philosophy. Socrates refused to write down any of his numerous ideas or teachings. Because of this, most of what modern philosophers know of Socrates comes from Plato's writings. Plato commonly references his teacher in his own work, sometimes transcribing entire debates with Socrates. Scholars debate whether Plato accurately represented the views of his teacher, or whether he used Socrates as a mouthpiece for his own views. Plato also influenced education; he founded the Academy, the world's first academic institution and a precursor to modern universities. People studied Plato's work and other philosophy at the Academy for hundreds of years, until it was closed in 529 C.E.
Allegory of the Cave
In The Republic, Plato's most widely read book, he describes an important conversation between
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Socrates and Plato's older brother, Glaucon. Socrates has just finished describing the ultimate Good, a concept not even Socrates can properly explain. Glaucon asks why most people are unaware of the Good. Socrates responds with the Allegory of the Cave.
In the Allegory of the Cave, a group of people are kept deep underground. They spend their entire lives chained to pillars facing a wall. The prisoners are completely unable to move or even turn their heads. A fire burns far behind the prisoners, providing the only dim light the prisoners ever know. In between the fire and the wall is a platform on which unseen persons place puppets or figures. The firelight casts shadows of the figures onto the wall.
Because the prisoners only ever see the shadows, they base their small society around them. Those who learn to accurately describe and predict the different shapes are awarded praise and prestige. The prisoners attribute the echoes of sounds from behind them to the shadows. The cave wall and the shadows that move on it are all any of the prisoners have known. Most of the prisoners even fail to realize that they are, in fact, prisoners.
If one of the prisoners were to break free of the chains, or if someone were to unlock the chains, the freed prisoner would probably continue to stare at the cave wall. Looking anywhere else would cause the prisoner pain, because the prisoner has never used any of the muscles in his or her neck. If the prisoner tried to stand, the muscles in the person's legs would hurt. If the prisoner turned around to look at the fire, the sudden bright light would blind the prisoner. Even if the prisoner's chains were removed, the prisoner would continue staring at the shadows instead of dealing with the pain of new movement.
In the Allegory of the Cave, someone forces a freed prisoner outside, into the sunlight. Initially, the prisoner is completely blinded by the sun. Afraid, confused, and in pain, the prisoner has to be prevented from returning to the dark cave. Over time, the prisoner's vision gradually adjusts to the light. First the prisoner can see shapes, then reflections in water, and eventually the prisoner can even look at the sun. Suddenly, the prisoner understands that the shadows the prisoners studied in the cave were only a small part of a larger truth. The prisoner is now truly free.
Now able to walk independently, the freed prisoner reenters the cave. The individual feels a powerful need to share this knowledge with the other prisoners. However, the freed prisoner's eyes are no longer adjusted to the dark. Though mostly blind, the freed prisoner persists. The individual finds the prisoners in the cave and tries to explain that a world exists beyond the shadows. The prisoners, having never seen anything except the shadows, are completely unable to understand what the individual describes. Additionally, because they take pride in accurately describing and predicting the shadows, they refuse to accept that the shadows are anything but absolute truth. When they notice that the freed prisoner cannot see in the dark, they blame this shortcoming on the person's departure from captivity and experiences in the outside world. From that point on, the prisoners attack and kill anyone who tries to free them.
Interpretation
Scholars have interpreted Plato's Allegory of the Cave in different ways. Some say that the passage is
meant to teach a political, religious, or personal truth. However, many scholars believe the passage refers to the realization of the Platonic view of the universe. Plato believed that the mortal world was full of temporary things, and that all temporary things originated from permanent versions in a separate dimension called the world of forms. The world of forms was populated by the immutable ideas and concepts hinted at by earthly objects. Plato most likely intended the shadows to represent physical objects, and the outside world to represent the world of forms.
Bibliography
Cohen, S. Marc. "The Allegory of the Cave." Philosophy 320. The University of Washington. 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. http://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm
Dillon, Ariel. "Education in Plato's Republic." Santa Clara University. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. 26 May 2004. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/dillon/education‗plato‗republic.html
McBride, Kelli. "A Breakdown of Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave.'" Tropic of Rhetoric. Kelli McBride. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. http://kellimcbride.com/pdf/1213‗plato‗lecture.pdf
"Plato-Biography." The European Graduate School. The European Graduate School EGS. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. http://www.egs.edu/library/plato/biography/
"Summary: Book VII, 514a-521d." SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/republic/section7.rhtml
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