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Plato's Allegory of the Cave
We stumble into a cave...
it takes a moment for our eyes to adjust to its gloomy interior.
A shocking sight comes into view
prisoners
Since childhood these shackled human beings have been sitting upright
chains wrapped around their legs. Likewise...
they cannot turn our heads because of the chains wrapped around their necks
in the back of the cave burns a fire
raised above and behind the prisoners is a low brick railing
Up and down the length of this parapet men, acting like puppeteers
hold up a number of objects
the prisoners cannot see any of this activity going on behind them
they can only watch this puppet show, weird shadowy images the objects cast on the
cave wall
the prisoners talk amongst themselves
they name the images paraded in front of them
and reward each other for their cleverness
but they all mistake the shadows that they see for real objects that they can't see
Writes Plato...
All in all then, what people in this situation would take for truth...
would be nothing more than shadows of the manufactured objects
The Republic
Book Seven
Five Fifteen C
But if the cave dwellers turn around
would they see their category mistakes and admit that their thinking was wrong?
Would they trade shadows for substance?
Now imagine a prisoner suddenly set free
What will he do? Well...
He'll have to decide whether or not he wants to leave the cave
Once he makes up his mind, he will need to ascend the long curved passageway toward the light
The defused sunlight make's him squint
Once outside, the glare of the sun stings his eyes
Will he be able to see what others in the light call real?
No
at least not right away
he is disoriented
maybe he is terrified by the liberty of clear uncluttered thought
He still gravitates toward shadows
reflections and echoes
he feels threatened and swears that the cave is reality
he tells himself that the shadow-land is true
he might even turn around and go back
but then he grows accustomed to the light
his curiosity begins to overpower his fears
he starts to understand
it's as if he is waking up
becoming enlightened
But by what?
according to an Indian proverb
"Nothing purifies like knowledge."
Jesus spoke of the "truth that makes you free"
The Buddha spoke of awakening
Plato points to the Forms, in particular, "The Good"
Perhaps all of these parts and more constitute true education
What does the process of true learning look like?
becoming transformed
changing
evolving
grasping and internalizing knowledge
reasoning
apprehending reality for oneself
taking the road less traveled
ascending to a higher consciousness
understanding
turning towards the "sun", (the Good)
to contemplate truth
according to Plato's Allegory,
this turning the eye away from the darkness towards the light can only be accomplished
by turning the whole body
The entire soul has to turn with it, toward—
and until it is able to bear the sight of—
the Good...
this would be
"true philosophy"
Now what happens if the freed prisoner decides to return to the cave?
He can be thought of as a liberator, championing the oppressed and setting captives free
He can be thought of as a Buddhist bodhisattva
helping other sentient beings
The freed prisoner determines to go back to the others
to do so he must reverse the process
instead of ascending, he descends, instead of moving from the darkness to the light, he now
moves from the light to the darkness
he retreats from the realm of substance and re-enters and he must re-acclimate
to the region of shadow
How do you think the freed prisoner will be received by his fellow prisoners?
Will they be persuaded? No.
The returning prisoner is treated as a laughing stock.
First the message is ridiculed,
then the messenger is murdered!
Not a very happy ending, is it?
What are we to make of the symbolism in Plato's Allegory of the Cave?
Some students thought the cave is shaped like the human brain
We are stuck in our minds concocting reality from our perceptions and opinions
We are shackled with the chains of distorted thinking
We live in our vague notions in the shadow-land
Our ideas might portend to the real
and point to the greater
if not the greatest that exists somewhere?
The cave is also thought to be the physical realm
outside of the cave and independent of us
is the intelligible realm
Somewhere there exists corresponding,
but perfect and complete Forms.
The Forms can be thought of as unchanging absolutes
in an impermanent ever-changing world.
The low fire at the back of the cave only hinted at the sun
for Plato, the sun symbolized the Form he called "the good"
Plato's Republic is an argument for a political ideal
or utopia
Callipolis is Plato's ideal city
and the educated Philosopher-King
is the ideal ruler
It is outside of the cave where one elevates the soul and becomes educated
It is the duty and responsibility of the freed prisoner who finds understanding in the intelligible realm
to go back to rule and educate in the physical realm— provided, of course
that he doesn't get killed!
Plato’s ideal is the educated Philosopher-King
as a leader
he is not tyrant or a despot
Like the Confucian ideal,
Plato's ideal must rule and teach with equanimity, respect
fairness, and justice
As a true sage, he enlightens and elevates his people to new understanding
he leads them to
"the good"
Plato's cave is the physical one-dimensional realm.
It is outside Plato's cave where one elevates the soul and becomes educated
What about you and me?
To learn, to grow, to self-actualize and self-realize,
must we not escape the cave of ignorance?