Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is a concept narrated by Socrates in Plato’s book ‘Republic.’ Plato is an ideal philosopher. In other words, he advocates that the material world or appearing world is just the imitation of the real world. The real truth and world are more than this, and we can only reach this truth with intellect. Allegory of the Cave basically portrays the society, which is between the learned truth and the real truth. It aims to compare the impact of the existence and absence of education on our nature.

Allegory of the Cave

Allegory of the Cave

As you can see in the picture, prisoners are chained by their hands and feet to the wall behind them, facing a blank wall opposite them. These prisoners have been living in this cave since their childhood. Behind the prisoners, there is a fire. And between the prisoners and the fire, behind the wall which prisoners chained, there are puppeteers. These puppeteers pass along the wall and carry all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone appear over the wall. During the pass, some of the puppeteers are talking while others keep silent, and somehow, they provide fake reality for the prisoners. This mechanism projects a shadow onto the other side of the wall, along with the sounds of the puppeteers. As a result, prisoners follow these shadows believing that they are real throughout their lives.

Reaching the Reality

Allegory of the Cave

Socrates portrays the philosopher as a prisoner who escaped from the cave and realizes that the shadows on the wall are not real. The process of escape from the cave is not easy. The minority of the society can succeed it. According to Socrates, this can happen after a long process devoted to education or knowledge.

When a prisoner can manage to escape from the cave, at first, the sunlight dazzles his eyes, and he cannot see anything at all. İn time, as a freed prisoner spends time in the real world, his eyes return to normal. Then, he discovers the existence of a new world he was not aware of before. He begins to perceive the world and what is happening around him better. After a while, the freed prisoner remembers the other prisoners who still live in the cave. He wants other prisoners to experience the real world as well. When he enters the cave again to fulfill his purpose, his eyes are dazzled again by the darkness. This dazzling of the eyes symbolizes our difficulty to admit ignorance after knowing the truth.

Prisoners who witness this situation think that getting out of the cave damaged his eyes. Moreover, they believe that the freed prisoner, who tries to convince them that their world is not real, is insane.

The Cave

The world of the ignorance, reality based on the senses

The Prisoners

All unenlightened individuals seeking truth in society

The Shadows

All the knowledge and beliefs that we get from others and adopted as the truth.

The Chain

Things that hinder the individual’s freedom to learn

The Fire

It reflects manufactured truths or beliefs. These beliefs can be true or false, but still guide people according to its own beliefs.

The Puppeteers

Individuals and organizations that create and impose knowledge

The Sun

Universal symbol of truth, truth and knowledge discovered through intellect

Philosopher

Enlightened one who witnessed the existence of the real world and who feels he has a responsibility to the rest of society.

References;

https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/creationofknowledge/allegory-of-the-cave.html#.X_36mugzZPY

https://www.philosophyzer.com/the-allegory-of-the-cave-by-plato-summary-and-meaning/