Plato's Allegory of the Cave

One of Plato's most popular philosophical brain teasers begins with the Allegory of the Cave. Below I have given a brief summary of the story, why it is so popular, and just some of the many philosophical questions that stem from it. I hope you enjoy reading about the Allegory of the Cave as much as I enjoyed researching it!

The Story

The Allegory of the Cave tells the story of a group of prisoners who have been chained up in a cave their whole lives. At first, all they can see are faint shadows on the wall in front of them; since this is all they have ever known, they believe that the shadows are actual entities before them. Then, one prisoner is brought outside for the first time. Upon realizing that the things around him are real, while their shadows are only reflections, he is astounded and disoriented. Amazed, he returns to the cave where the other prisoners remain to tell them about all that they are missing. However, when he returns to the cave, his eyes have difficulty adjusting to the darkness and the other prisoners think he has gone blind or been made stupid. The other prisoners resist his attempts to free them for fear of becoming blind or stupid themselves. Plato uses the Allegory of the Cave to represent how he felt as a philosopher trying to explain his ideas to others. Most people seem to be comfortable in their ignorance, afraid of change, and some are even very hostile towards philosophers who point out ignorance.

Connection to Socrates and the Republic

We saw this play out during Socrates’ trial. Socrates’ three accusers, especially Meletus, feel as though Socrates has made a fool of them by pointing out their shortcomings during the trial, which only angers them more. Socrates’ accusers are like the prisoners who see the freed prisoner as a threat to their comfort. As Plato was a follower of Socrates, Socrates’ trial had an insurmountable impact on him and his beliefs. I believe that Plato’s beliefs about the incompetency of the Athenian government either stemmed from or were immensely strengthened by his experiencing Socrates’ trial.

The Allegory of the Cave strengthens Plato’s argument in his work, the Republic. He believed that the general public was too ignorant and stubborn to govern themselves. In the work, Plato argues for the disbanding of the Athenian democracy, replaced with a system of philosopher kings. The Allegory of the Cave shows that the general public is too ignorant and cowardly to successfully run a governmental system, thus displaying the need for philosopher kings as he intended.

More than Politics

The Allegory of the Cave can also represent much more than Plato's political explanation. It brings up questions surrounding the realness of the world around us and the differences between abstract and concrete ideas. For example, is everything in the physical world a flawed reflection of the truly perfect form? All the prisoners had known their entire lives were shadows, so of course, they thought that they were the real, ideal form of things, but were soon proved wrong. Is it possible that we, like the prisoners, are seeing only reflections of the actual ideal forms of things? Where might those ideal forms actually exist? Can we ever be confident in what we know?

Sources

“The Internet Classics Archive: The Republic by Plato.”The Internet Classics Archive | The Republic by Plato, classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html.

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave - Alex Gendler Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWOpQXTltA