Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

What is reality, knowledge, or the meaning of life? Deep subjects that surprisingly few people actually think about. It’s not uncommon to view our passage through life figuratively, such as explaining existence as a journey we take as humans; an adventure, a tragedy, a game played, or as Macbeth calls “a brief candle.”

In 375 BCE (2,400 years ago), one of history's great Greek philosophers said, ‘life is like being chained up in a cave, forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone wall.’ This was Plato who suggested in his Allegory of the Cave (found in Book VII of "The Republic"), that an ideal society should be envisioned by examining concepts of “Justice”, “Truth”, and “Beauty”.

In this allegory, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern from birth, with no knowledge of the outside world. They are chained, facing a wall, not able to turn their heads, and a fire behind them shining a faint light. Occasionally, people pass by the fire, carrying figures of animals, trees, buildings, and other objects that cast shadows on the wall. The prisoners name and classify these illusions (i.e., dogs, cats, birds, houses, etc....), believing they are perceiving actual entities.

Suddenly, one prisoner is freed from his chains, and looking around, spots a distant light. He finds his way to the source of illumination, emerging outside of the cave for the first time. The bright sunlight brings pain to his eyes, blinding him, and he finds this new place disorienting. As his vision adjusts, he begins to see objects with depth and dimensions he did not understand. When told that the things he sees around him are real, while the shadows on the ground (which he recognizes) were only projected shapes of these objects, he cannot believe this information to be true. The shadows appeared much clearer to him. Gradually, his eyes become accustomed to the light until he is able to look at objects directly, even his own reflection in the water, and finally sees the Sun itself; whose light is the ultimate source of all that is seen.

The prisoner returns to the cave excited to share what he has discovered, but once back in the darkness, is unable to see clearly, having a hard time identifying the shadows on the wall he previously so revered as reality. Observing him dazed and confused, the other prisoners think the journey has made him crazy and blind to what they know is real, and violently resist any attempts to be set free.

Plato introduces this passage as an analogy of what it's like to be a philosopher trying to educate the public. Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anyone pointing it out. In fact, Plato’s teacher, Socrates, was sentenced to death by the Athenian government for ‘disrupting the social order.’ As a result, Plato spends much of "The Republic" discrediting Athenian democracy, while promoting rule by philosopher kings.

With the cave parable, Plato suggests that the masses are too stubborn and ignorant (knowledge resistant) to govern themselves; not much has changed from these ancient times. It’s also important to know, this allegory is connected to the theory of forms, developed in Plato's other dialogues. The Theory of Forms is expressed in the story by the ‘shadows on the wall’ which represent things in the physical world. The shadows are flawed reflections of ideal forms, such as the spherical nature of a ball, or the beauty found in a flower; both being concepts of reality. Forms, therefore, are beliefs that exist in our minds when thinking of what is ‘physically real’.

In this way, the cave leads to many fundamental esoteric questions, including the origin of knowledge, the problem of representation, and the nature of reality itself. For theologians, the ideal forms exist in the mind of a creator. Philosophers of language view the forms as linguistic concepts, revealing the Theory of Forms as a problem in grouping concrete entities with abstract terms. Others wonder whether we can really know if the reality outside the cave is any more real than the shadows within.

Can any of us be confident in what we believe to know? More important, if a ‘New-Light-of-Truth’ were to punch a hole in your most basic preconceived notions of life, would you violently resist? Or will you escape to struggle in this light of knowledge, even if it costs you your friends and family? It would be easier to just remain with recognizable and enjoyable illusions you have called real for so long. Definitely a hard choice to make, but if it's any consolation, you're not alone. There are a lot of people who wish to remain with the problems they know, then to rebuild a reality of problems they don’t understand.

A notable postscript: Everyone I’ve ever encountered who learns of this Allegory, identifies with the freed prisoner; no one wishes to acknowledge that they themselves actually remain chained to the wall. Therefore understand, denial is your greatest obstacle to a life-rewarding change.

Did you know, denial is also the number one symptom of having a heart attack...

something to think about.

“...denial even after a heart attack has happened is a common defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety by reducing the threat.” ~ Alberta Health Services