Dr. Ari Santas’

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Exercise

Background: This story is from Book VII of Plato’s Republic. In this work, Plato begins with the question, “What is Justice?” and ends up laying out the foundations of a just society. The cave is supposed to illustrate at least two things

1. The relationship between the Forms and ordinary things (appearance and reality)
2. Why it is that people who are in touch with the Forms are misunderstood

The first point concerns metaphysics; the second point touches on epistemology, but also on the sociology of philosophizing.

A. Draw pictures of the three basic scenes of the allegory of the cave. For each scene, try to include as many images (the fire, the shadows, the chains, etc.) as possible and think concretely about what they are supposed to symbolize (remember, this is an allegory!).

1) the prisoners’ initial condition of bondage in the cave;

2) the prisoner’s escape from bondage and emergence into the light;

3) the escaped prisoner’s return to the cave and the unwelcome response by his former friends

B. If you were the escaped prisoner who had found enlightenment, would you return to the cave and help your old friends escape? If not, why not? If so, why?

Supposing you did return, how would you break the chains? What if one of them—your best friend—didn’t want to go? Would you force her/him as you had been? How would you break the chains?