Caving with Plato

March 30, 2009 at 10:15 pm · Filed under AS Philosophy

The Analogy of the Cave

In Plato’s book The Republic the main character Socrates tells a story to his hearers about a cave and its inhabitants. The story is intended to illustrate the contrast between true knowledge which comes through education and the impressions we receive in the everyday world.

The Story
For a full version click here
Or
   

Plato’s Cave  Watch a video on YouTube

Briefly
Prisoners are chained so that they can only see a wall of a cave in which they live. Behind them is a fire and a raised wall along which puppeteers move wooden shapes of men and animals. The light from the fire throws shadows on the wall, which the prisoners believe are real people. Sounds made by the puppeteers echoes through the cave and the prisoners assume that these sounds come from the shadows they see. At some point one of the prisoners escapes his chains. Initially when he turns round he is blinded by the fire and cannot see clearly. Once his eyes become accustomed to the light from the fire he realizes the deception and begins to move towards the exit of the cave. Struggling upward into the daylight his eyes are again blinded by the light from the outside world and as he emerges from the mouth of the cave he can see nothing because of the light from the sun. He sees at first only shadows and shapes, but later on, as his eyes adapt, he can view the real world and eventually he is even able to look at the sun. The story ends with the prisoner pondering what would be his fate if he were to re-enter the world of the cave and try to resume his old way of life.

Now look at the meaning

The cave	The visible world, where humans live
The man	The philosopher, perhaps Socrates
The prisoners	The rest of humanity who are unable to understand the words of men who are ‘enlightened’
The shadows and echoes	What we perceive as the whole of our reality. i.e. all empirical knowledge
Outside	The eternal and immutable world (true reality) – the world of Ideas the world of Forms
The sun	Enlightenment or the Form of the Good
The journey out	The progression of education and the skills of the philosopher
Return to cave	Socrates’ own example. He taught the citizens of Athens and was put to death

TRY THIS QUIZ

1: In which of Plato’s books does the Allegory of the Cave appear?
Phaedo
Republic
Symposium
None

2: In the allegory of the cave, what do the prisoners actually watch all day long?
Forms
Puppets
Symbols
Shadows

3: In the allegory of the cave which character or characters has the state of mind Plato calls eikasia?
The Guardians
The prisoners
The man who escapes
The narrator

4: Which science underlies Plato’s thinking about reality in the world?
Mathematics
Astronomy
Astrology
Logic

5: What name does Plato give to the eternal world of concepts?
The theory of opposites
Opinion
The theory of Forms
The world of sense experiences

6: With which of these statements about the “Form of the Good” would Plato not have agreed?
Our souls have an innate notion of it
The Good illuminate the other forms
The sun in the analogy of the cave may be compared with the form of the Good
The concept of the Form of the God helps Christians understand God

7: With which of these statements about the “soul” would Plato not have agreed?
The soul is pre-existent
The soul could be divided into reason, emotion and desire
The soul is the directing force of the person
The soul is changeable

8: Which of the following thinkers would have agreed with Plato’s rationalist views?
Leonard Nimoy
Rene Descartes
David Hume
Aristotle

9: Socrates founded his own school in Athens. What was it called?
Hippodrome
Coliseum
Academy
Lyceum

10: Which of the following courses was not taught in Plato’s school?
Geography
Astronomy
Mathematics
Biology

Answers later

 

Caving with Plato – Day two

 

Modern versions of the cave illustration.

 

The same point could be made using the concept of the cinema. Cinema-goers sit and watch the screen and become totally absorbed in the actions. When the plot becomes sinister we sit in fear. , When the Jaws shark emerges from the sea we jump and young ladies grow tearful as the handsome hero dies. These are images on a screen. They have no reality in life.

 

Could the same be said about TV soaps?

Do you get excited when there is a chance of a wedding in Emmerdale?

Or horrified by the prospect of a crime in Coronation Street?

Is you day organised so that you can get watch the latest revelations in Albert Square?

 

These are not real people. They are actors, images, copies of real life.

Like the prisoners in the cave we are still fooled by them. Or are we?

 

Classic update

 

Matrix Philosophy – The Cave 

 

I hope this clip reminds those who have seen The Matrix what it is all about. You have to watch quite a bit of the film before you get the hang of it. Nevertheless there is more than a hint of Plato’s analogy in some of the scenes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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