PLATO'S PHILOSOPHY

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Plato's Philosophy

Name: Jousianne Propp

Subject: Theology and Ethics

1.a) The Allegory of the Cave

The Allegory of the Cave can be found in Book VII of Plato's best-known work, The Republic, a lengthy discussion on the nature of justice. It is written as a dialogue between Socrates and his apprentice Glaucon.

Plato creates the image of prisoners who have been chained inside a cave since birth. Their limbs and heads are immobilized so that their eyes are fixed to a wall opposite them. Behind the prisoners is a fire and in front of that there is a raised path, along which shapes of various artificial objects are being carried. These cast shadows on the wall. The prisoners assign names to the images they see and which they believe to be real, for this is the only reality they know.

One of the prisoners escapes and sees the fire and the people carrying the objects. He continues towards the mouth of the cave and steps outside. The sunlight blinds him and at first he can only make out dark blurry shapes which soon become bright and clear and he observes that