The cave plato free#

This is clearly represented in the ascent out of the cave up the steep and jagged rock path.

It is a painful process thinking in new ways. Just like the released prisoner, the new philosopher struggles to take in his new world view. This journey out of the cave by the prisoner is the journey of the new philosopher to enlightenment. What does the journey up the jagged path represent? Plato suggests that if the prisoner were led to the entrance to the cave he would have to struggle up the steep and jagged rocks to climb out of the cave. Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes and that it was better not even to think of ascending and if any one tried to loose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death.

The cave plato free#

In the Allegory of the Cave Plato identifies the free prisoner as the philosopher. The Sun is the ultimate source of the Form of the Good – of truth and beauty. The Jagged Path represents the hard journey to find ultimate truth, It is the journey of the philosopher.

The Free Prisoner represents anyone who takes the journey to Enlightenment – who seeks after truth, goodness and beauty. What the prisoners see and hear are shadows and echoes cast by objects that they do not see. The prisoners are unable to see these puppets, the real objects, that pass behind them. The puppeteers, who are behind the prisoners, hold up puppets that cast shadows on the wall of the cave. The Puppets – between the fire and the prisoners there is a parapet, along which puppeteers can walk. The Shadows represent the superficial or partial truth. The Prisoners represent all those who never get beyond sense experience.

The Cave wall represents the reality we see, touch and hear every day – the world of experience. We need to explain each of the symbols of the cave: The cave wall, the prisoners, the shadows, the puppets, the free prisoner, the jagged path, the sun. Each aspect of the allegory represents something in the real world. Plato’s allegory of the cave appears in The Republic. In Republic, Plato explores the nature of knowledge and how only reason (episteme) can lead to true knowledge (doxa) as experience will only give us changing opinion. This handout is adapted from Andrew Capone, A Workbook on Philosophy of Religion (Peped, 2018) A.