Plato's Allegory of the Cave: A Metaphor for Educational Enlightenment, Study notes of Philosophy

Download Plato's Allegory of the Cave: A Metaphor for Educational Enlightenment and more Study notes Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity!

Allegory of

the Cave

Allegory of

the Cave

ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

Submitted by: Submitted to: Archi Agarwal Dr. Prashant Shukla Bachelor of Arts 3 rd^ Semester Roll. No.: 2210011016146 2023 - 24 University of Lucknow Faculty of Philosophy Department of Arts

Index

Title

1. About Plato

2. What is an Allegory?

3. Plato’s Theory of Forms

4. Visible & Intelligible World

5. The Allegory of the Cave

6. Cave Positions

7. Meaning of the Allegory

8. The Allegory & Education

9. Then vs Now

10. Conclusion

11. References

Plato

(c. 427 BC – c. 347 BC)

• ancient Greek philosopher,
• student of Socrates (c. 470– 399 BCE),
• teacher of Aristotle (384– 322 BCE),
• founder of the Academy,
• author of The Republic

--a dialogue on the nature

of justice, society, and ethics.

• Plato argues that all of the objects that we experience through our senses are particular things. We don’t sense anything ‘abstract’. For example, we only ever see this or that particular beautiful thing, but we never see ‘beauty itself’. We see this or that particular triangle, never ‘triangularity itself’.
• But, obviously, more than one thing can be beautiful or triangular. They are properties that more than one thing can have. So, Plato claims, if many different things can be beautiful or triangular, then there is something they share in common that is not sensed, viz. beauty or triangularity.
• This is a universal or what Plato calls a Form. Definitions are meant to capture Forms. “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” ― Plato, The Republic

Plato’s

Theory Of Forms

Visible & Intelligible World For Plato, human beings live in a world of visible and intelligible things. The visible world is what surrounds us: what we see, what we hear, what we experience; this visible world is a world of change and uncertainty. The intelligible world is made up of the unchanging products of human reason: anything arising from reason alone, such as abstract definitions or mathematics, makes up this intelligible world, which is the world of reality. The intelligible world contains the eternal "Forms" (in Greek, idea ) of things; the visible world is the imperfect and changing manifestation in this world of these unchanging forms. For example, the "Form" or "Idea" of a horse is intelligible, abstract, and applies to all horses; this Form never changes, even though horses vary wildly among themselves. An individual horse is a physical, changing object that can easily cease to be a horse (if, for instance, it's dropped out of a fifty story building); the Form of a horse, or "horseness," never changes. As a physical object, a horse only makes sense in that it can be referred to the "Form" or "Idea" of horseness.

Imprisonment in the Cave:

• Plato begins by having Socrates ask Glaucon to imagine a cave where people have been imprisoned from childhood, but not from birth. These prisoners are chained so that their legs and necks are fixed, forcing them to gaze at the wall in front of them and not to look around at the cave, each other, or themselves.
• Behind the prisoners is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway with a low wall, behind which people walk carrying objects or puppets "of men and other living things"

• The people walk behind the wall so their bodies do not cast shadows for the prisoners to see, but the objects they carry do. The prisoners cannot see any of what is happening behind them; they are only able to see the shadows cast upon the cave wall in front of them.
• Socrates suggests that the shadows are reality for the prisoners because they have never seen anything else; they do not realize that what they see are shadows of objects in front of a fire, much less that these objects are inspired by real things outside the cave which they do not see. Departure from the Cave:
• Socrates then supposes that the prisoners are released.
• A freed prisoner would look around and see the fire. The light would hurt his eyes and make it difficult for him to see the objects casting the shadows. If he were told that what he is seeing is real instead of the other version of reality he sees on the wall, he would not believe it. In his pain, Socrates continues, the freed prisoner would turn away and run back to what he is accustomed to (that is, the shadows of the carried objects). “...each individual can only do one thing well. He can't do lots of things. If he tries, he will be jack of all trades, and master of none.” ― Socrates, The Republic

fellow cave dwellers out of the cave and into the sunlight.

• The returning prisoner, whose eyes have become accustomed to the sunlight, would be blind when he re- entered the cave, just as he was when he was first exposed to the sun. The prisoners who remained, according to the dialogue, would infer from the returning man's blindness that the journey out of the cave had harmed him and that they should not undertake a similar journey. Socrates concludes that the prisoners, if they were able, would therefore reach out and kill anyone who attempted to drag them out of the cave. “.. the men of the cave would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes...” ― Plato, The Republic

Cave Positions

Persons are in the rear of the cave, bound, and can only see shadows projected against a wall by a fire. Persons are then unbound, turned toward the fire in the cave, and can see the figures projecting shadows. Persons are then dragged out of the cave. They are dazzled by the sunlight and can only first see shadows. But then are able to see things- themselves and the heavens. Persons can then perceive the Sun itself, the source of all light.

Meaning of this Allegory

An Ignorant person can only see the shadows without suspecting they are not real things. A fully educated person can see the shadows, the puppets that cast the shadows, the original things after which the puppets are modeled, and the sun that makes the original things visible.

st

Century

It is still the same

• People imagine they are seeing the real things
• They do not have the time to check out the facts.
• They are still ill informed, disinterested until catastrophe - natural or War etc
• The reduction of potential voters to an apathetic and poorly informed mass of television consumers works too well for the privileged

The allegory written in

400 BC may not be

relevant today you may

think. But see what is

the actual position

Conclusion

In conclusion, Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a powerful metaphor that highlights the transformative journey from ignorance to enlightenment.

1. The cave represents the world of appearances, where individuals are trapped in ignorance and perceive shadows as reality.
2. The freed prisoner symbolizes the enlightened individual who discovers the true nature of reality outside the cave.
3. This journey emphasizes the importance of education, philosophy, and the pursuit of knowledge in breaking free from illusions.
4. The freed prisoner faces resistance when trying to enlighten others still trapped in ignorance.
5. The allegory underscores the challenges of awakening others to a higher level of understanding and the resistance to change.
6. It emphasizes the role of philosopher-kings in guiding society towards justice, truth, and the greater good.
7. The allegory encourages individuals to question their perceptions, seek truth beyond appearances, and actively pursue wisdom.
8. It highlights the transformative power of knowledge and the potential for personal and societal growth through enlightenment.
9. The Allegory of the Cave serves as a timeless reminder of the importance of critical thinking and the pursuit of truth.
10. Ultimately, it calls upon individuals to strive for enlightenment, challenge the status quo, and contribute to a more enlightened and just society.