Plato: The Cave Analogy Flashcards
When was the analogy written?
Approximately 2,500 years ago.
Where was the analogy found?
In Plato’s famous work ‘Republic’, written when he was about 40.
Who must we imagine a dialogue between?
Socrates and a man called Glaucon.
Where was it written?
In Athens, Greece; a centre of culture, learning and activity but also, at a time when the city was in decline.
What was Plato’s intention?
He was deeply concerned about his fellow citizens and felt it was his mission to present to people a better, more ethical and more considered way of living.
What is an analogy?
The act of comparing one thing with another that shares similar characteristics to help a person learn about the first thing.
Why did Plato use the analogy?
To explain the importance of questioning everything, in order to distinguish between the unreal, physical world (where firelight casts shadows on a cave wall) and the real spiritual world (lit by the sun).
Who are the prisoners?
People who accept everything at face value, never ask questions and never try to understand. They lead meaningless and empty lives and the shadows are not real objects. They are in an illusionary world.
Who is the one who breaks away?
The philosopher who wants to know what is really going on.
What does the one who breaks away discover?
He discovers that the sun is giving life to everything. When he returns to the cave, he realises life inside is just a sham; the images on the wall lack colour and nothing is clear or sharp.
What does the sun represent?
The form of the good and the source of other forms – it sustains all living things in the world above the ground.
What is Plato suggesting about society?
Plato says their situation is no different to ours. Plato is commenting that we do not see the Forms clearly, only the illusionary physical world.
Who was Plato criticising?
The philosophers and politicians who lead the people but do not actually know the truth (Forms).
What was the meaning of the prisoner being set free but almost forced (dragged into the sunlight)?
Plato believed that people needed to be taught how to understand the Forms so that they could clearly see but that the act of teaching people could be distressing.
What does Robin Waterfield suggest?
The prisoners being attracted to the shadows from the firelight rather than the real world above represent the way in which culture, tradition and upbringing limit people’s ability to see the world in any way other than how they were brought up.
