1.1.3

Plato's Analogy of the Cave

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Plato's Analogy of the Cave

The analogy of the cave shows the journey that the philosopher makes from illusion to reality – from ignorance to the world of Forms.

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Prisoners chained to a wall

  • A prisoner is chained alongside others facing a wall. Behind them is a fire and in front of that a raised wall, upon which objects are placed so that they cast their shadows onto the wall in front of the prisoners.
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The prisoner's journey

  • One of the prisoners is freed. He sees the fire first, the objects and then he begins the difficult ascent out of the cave.
  • When he gets outside and his eyes become accustomed to the light, he sees reflections of the moon and stars in the water. Then he sees them in the sky.
  • Finally, he sees the sun. When he returns to free the prisoners from the cave and tell them of the outside world, they think he is mad and drive him away.
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Allegorical meaning of the cave

  • The cave: the world of the senses
  • The shadows on the wall: illusions – what we see and mistake for reality.
  • The chains: ignorance.
  • The fire: the sun.
  • The objects on the wall: physical things.
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Allegorical meaning of the cave

  • The difficult ascent: the dialectic – the process of arriving at truth.
  • The reflections: the process of understanding.
  • The moon and stars: the Forms of justice, beauty etc.
  • The Sun: the Form of the Good.

Jump to other topics

1Philosophy of Religion

1.1Ancient Philosophical Influences: Plato

1.2Ancient Philosophical Influences: Aristotle

1.3Ancient Philosophical Influences: Soul, Mind, Body

1.4The Existence of God - Arguments from Observation

1.5The Existence of God - Arguments from Reason

1.6Religious Experience

1.7The Problem of Evil

1.8The Nature & Attributes of God

1.9Religious Language: Negative, Analogical, Symbolic

1.10Religious Language: 20th Century Perspective

2Religion & Ethics

3Developments in Christian Thought

3.1Saint Augustine's Teachings

3.2Death & the Afterlife

3.3Knowledge of God's Existence

3.4The Person of Jesus Christ

3.5Christian Moral Principles

3.6Christian Moral Action

3.7Development - Pluralism & Theology

3.8Development - Pluralism & Society

3.9Gender & Society

3.10Gender & Theology

3.11Challenges

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