Allegory of the Cave Can Be Summed

Allegory of the cave can be summed up in one single sentence. It symbolizes the place of perceptions in the pursuit of knowledge. Indeed, in a preamble to the actual relating of the allegory, Plato is involved in a discussion as to who can be considered a true philosophy. The discussion meanders around attempting to answer the following enigmas: Just because someone subscribes to a specific philosophy, does that make him or her a philosopher? Does a person who indulges in a certain muse that is premised on a philosophy -- directly or indirectly related to it -- become a philosopher? Plato goes through pains explaining that a philosopher was (or should be) cut in a different mould. A philosopher, Plato avers, should be able to see beyond what is merely obvious or superficial. A philosopher should see the inner beauty of things and understand, abstractedly, the natural causes of this beauty. In other words, the philosopher should be perceptive. In order to illustrate his arguments, Plato relates the allegory of the cave. This entire dialog, Plato, uses Socrates as his surrogate -- perhaps in a testament to this his mentor.

In the allegory, Socrates asks that we imagine prisoners in a dimly lit cave who have been shackled in such a manner as to not see another human from birth. They're only life experiences are shadows cast on the wall of the cave by people who may or may not carry objects, and who may or may not speak out. The prisoners' idea of life is limited to what they perceive, intuit or conclude from seeing and hearing from these shadows. There are things going on in this cave that we do not know about. When this is the limit of our world, we are taken in by the limit of what our senses report to us. Socrates avers that we are entertained, informed, and reassured by the mundane and the sublime in our reality. We are not aware that these shadows are merely artificial.

Then, something happens to shatter life in the cave. One person is freed. He sees the fire. He is free to explore the cave. He can see his fellow prisoners. His sense of his previously held views on realism is disturbed. His long held perceptions are further shattered when he leaves the caves and experiences the world around him. His blinders fall off. His field of view improves. His experiences expand. But still old doubts linger. The individual considers rejecting everything because it looks unfamiliar, unreal, untrue, unnatural, and wrong. Yet things begin to change. The individual now realizes that there is an entire universe beyond the underground cave. He is now enlightened. Plato is saying that humans are all prisoners and that the tangible world is our cave. The things, which we perceive as real, are actually just shadows on a wall. Just as the escaped prisoner ascends into the light of the sun, we amass knowledge and ascend into the light of true reality: ideas in the mind. Yet, if someone goes into the light of the sun and beholds true reality and then proceeds to tell the other captives of the truth, they laugh at and ridicule the enlightened one, for the only reality they have ever known is a fuzzy shadow on a wall.

Philosophy, Plato/Socrates avers is the power to learn and acquire knowledge that is already held in the soul. But the true philosopher can find it. The true philosopher goes beyond the surface. He plumbs the depths. He sees and experiences things -- away from the cave in the bright sunlight --, which the others cannot see. The true philosopher has clarity of vision. His perception is different and unusual. His perception is far from ordinary. He knows. Plato decries our mundane existences. He especially uses certain words to depict the ordinariness of most people's lives. The significant words are: "sun," "fire," "wall," prisoner," "marionette players" and "puppets," as well as the notion of " competition among prisoners." Ordinary people are slaves to the mundane. We compete for frivolities that are not bound to real values. Instead of seeking the light, we are merely led on a merry dance manipulated by the strings of ignorance.

Plato also talks about the travails of a philosopher. The path to achieving enlightenment is difficult and tortuous and multi-step. Indeed, Socrates was condemned to die by far lesser men who were afraid of his political theories because it threatened their raison d' tre. In the allegory, the escapee had to break all the shackles that held him back. The process of freeing himself first made him aware of what he looked like and what his fellowmen looked like. He turned around and saw the fire. That told him that his worldview was illusory. The first step towards enlightenment was awareness. Then comes the adventure of discovery. Even this is not easy to do. He has to make the journey to the outside world. During his travel the philosopher is still filled with doubts and fear. The urge to turn back is strong.

Then there is the dazzling sunlight, which the philosopher has to adjust to. It is only in time that the clarity of vision appears and knowledge acquisition can begin. Perhaps, the most difficult part of the philosopher is when he or she decides to spread the light. The need to inform is paramount. Plato admits the possibility of the intellectual not being able to communicate his ideas in a manner that might enable him to be understood. Knowledge and wisdom, though free, come with effort and an innate desire to learn. In the allegory, the light is knowledge. Nevertheless, to the prisoners, the light is perceived as sinister and blinding. Yet, to the voyager, the light is pure goodness. It is all in how the light is perceived; for perception is everything.