Plato’s allegory of the cave is quite vivid and serves as an important example. This is what this eye-opening allegory can teach us today.

But before we discuss Plato’s allegory of the cave, let’s talk about this great philosopher first. Plato (Greek: Πλάτων, 427. BC. – 347. BC.) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is considered as one of the most influential people in the history of western civilization.

He was Socrates’ student. Thanks to Plato, we have a significant source of information about Socrates. Plato founded the first institution of its kind – the Academy. Aristotle was a student of that academy.

Plato’s best-known work is “The Republic” – a book in which he wrote about a utopian image of an ideal society that would be ideally run by philosophers.

Plato left a lasting mark on the development of many minds that came after him. He is one of the most influential figures in the course of the development of modern western society.

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Plato once demonstrated his knowledge with his so-called allegory of the cave. It is found in the seventh book of dialogue in “The Republic”. It is quite vivid and serves as an important example.

He invites us to imagine a cave. In it, there are people who have been chained and are unable to turn to any other direction except for the inner wall they are facing. Because of the chains, they cannot see anyone besides themselves nor can they see the cave’s exit, which is directly behind their back. The only source of light in the cave is a campfire.

Between people and the fire, there is a cover behind which there are other people that go about on their own business. They are walking past, carrying stone and wooden statues of men and animals, etc. The chained ones are observing a blank wall and can see, because of the fire, the shadows of themselves and of that which is happening behind them.

As they are walking by, some of the people behind the cover are talking to each other while others are silent. The voices echo in the cave while the shadows dance on the wall. This makes it appear to the chained ones as if the shadows are real and talking.

Those in chains have no other things to do except for talking about the shadows. So they try to guess which shadows shall past next and in what order. Those that are the best at guessing are granted with honors and get more acclaim than the others.

Plato compares us to those who are chained to the cave wall in his metaphor.

He points out that we believe and think we see reality by watching the shadows on the wall.

He states that we should consider the possibility of releasing one of those in chains to stand up and turn to face the light from the exit of the cave. The sunlight would cause great pain to this person as he or she would be used only to darkness. Thus, no clear vision would be possible. If he or she got used to the light and saw what was really happening behind the cover in the cave, a revelation of the delusion would occur. Enlightenment.

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Its Meaning

Plato’s allegory of the cave serves its purpose to represent the life of an individual. A life of learning and knowing by using our senses and entrapment and obsessiveness with the body and all things material. Exiting the cave means the soul’s rising into a world of ideas. One can accomplish this by learning with reason and a mind clear of delusions.

Plato concludes the allegory of the cave by asking the question of what would happen to the one who got out of the cave and had observed the Sun. What would ensue if he or she tried to explain to the chained ones what was really happening – what the real truth was?

The revelation would seem impossible to the others and they would declare the “enlightened one” to be mad. Even if this person attempted to release them and take them out of the cave, it would only lead to the demise of the “enlightened one”. Plato used this metaphor to allude to the fate of his mentor Socrates who was charged and executed by the Athenians.

Now, let us approach this topic from another point of view – a 21st century one at that.

Does Plato’s Allegory of the Cave Remain Relevant in Our Times?

Yes, of course, it does.

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

– Solomon

The question you should be asking is whether you are the one in chains or the one who “sees” matters for what they truly are. Or even still, if you are chained to the wall in front of you to revel in the glorious shadows for an entire lifetime – would you know it? There is another question – would you want to change it? Would you have the courage to make that audacious step to come out of your comfort zone?

For the brave and the bold, there is always a way out of the cave.

It isn’t as simple as taking the red pill, as Neo did in the movie Matrix, unfortunately. It is a challenging process of change and self-improvement for every individual. Through hours spent on finding, learning, validating, and putting the newfound knowledge into practical use. All knowledge is useless if it is not being used for a persistent and purposeful practice.

The first step is self-assessment. Seeing and accepting all the faults and issues of one’s character. Detachment and the perseverance to abstain from the creed for the material things is the second step. The third is a humble and gentle perspective towards all the life’s creatures and occurrences. Nobility appears as a consequence. The fourth step is to love each and every moment of existence and all that makes that moment unique. The fifth step – I’ll leave it for you to find it out for yourself…

Step out of the “cave” into the light and do not stop trying to tell the others what you’ve experienced on the outside. Be the change and you will change the world around you!

To get more food for thought, watch this curious video about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave:

References:

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org (1)
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org (2)
  3. http://classics.mit.edu
  4. Image: 4edges/CC BY-SA

Copyright © 2012-2024 Learning Mind. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.

power of misfits book banner mobile

Like what you are reading? Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss new thought-provoking articles!

This Post Has 13 Comments

  1. Levi

    That’s a nice explanation, though I’m missing one importing point.

    The metaphor may very well be applied in turn on the surface world one sees after getting out of the cave. And this, in my opinion, is the best part of it. After being enlightened from one reality, one shall not assume he/she then sees the ultimate truth. It may be just another, more complex cave.

    Do we ever get to the ultimate truth? How can we know whether we are there or there’s still a cave to get out from? We simply don’t. That’s why we have to keep searching for the exit.

    1. Bhupinder Sekhon

      yea simillar question i want to ask.. how should one dont know that he/she is not in more complicated
      cave??

  2. led

    Thanks for the great article. i really appreciate it. I have been making research on the internet for a very long time and now come up with something useful.

    1. Callum

      I’ve been researching on and off along a papertrail of topics that began with psychology back at uni, led to politics and sociology, then a bit of economics before branching into philosophy. I’d be very curious to talk and learn about what you’ve found useful; I believe I’m coming to a similar conclusion – for the moment anyway!

      As Levi points out – as we gain greater understanding and ‘escape’ so we will never truly know whether we’ve found the sun or just another fire. But then again – it’d be fairly boring if it were anything else… 😉

  3. Nikola Fragerotorio

    We will keep looking for the truth all of our lives. It takes a lifetime to discover a mere part of this beautiful creation. The truth is not promised or destined to us. That’s what makes life beautiful.

  4. Sky Kuhlman

    Reminds me of the jail scene from V for Vendetta.

  5. Eek

    I was hoping for a more useful and literal interpretation. We indeed only view shadows, except the inverse. We view a limited range of the spectrum of light as it bounces randomly towards our eyes. We hear pressure vibrations in a limited way. Our simple brains can only conceive of 6 or 7 simultaneous objects. Perhaps there is much more than we know going on behind us, but we can only imagine extensions upon that which we see. We cant ‘turn around’ because physiologically, we are unequipped.

    1. Newrange

      Very eloquently put.

      I often wonder what exists outside the limits of our perception. Those lucky few people who can see a broader spectrum of colors than the rest of us are proof that we will continue improving our perception as we evolve. It’s amusing to ponder what other senses our descendants might someday develop, if humanity survives to that point.

  6. Brendon

    Thank you for writing this! It’s a really great perspective and I always enjoy content around ancient philosophy. 🙂

  7. Patricia

    I once heard a story that in summary said that while in the womb just at the instant we are born God kisses us, but we have no memory of it except that it is all that we want or need…. and so it is all of our life that is spent searching for that kiss.

  8. A Machenze

    there is a way out from this cave….. that is to have self belief that you are out and thats it,… the truth. some men had noticed like budha after his meditation . if we can break this chain from a tool like a rock which is inside that cave then we can move out of this cave …..that is breaking the no barriors of our mind

  9. A Machenze

    one more idea for youall , if the cave have no rocks and it is like our world . then better isolate you from others negative thouht . hence to get out of all caves we have make our own cave for imgination of dream . i will advice that join every persons creative ideas to our own mother idea . hence whatever we ideolise is far actually a truth . difference is the effort to mke it real!!

  10. Nick

    I believe that Plato’s Allegory Of The Cave is considered a good example of showing the way people think in our daily lives. I also think that the Plato’s Allegory Of The Cave reflects and highlights how the modern society is close minded because of the technology humans possess such as social media.

Leave a Reply