Myth of the Cavern

Myth of the Cavern

Plato's Cave Myth

Imagine a group of slaves born inside a cave, never having a clue of the world outside or sunlight, or anything other than the dark, rough cave walls that houses. These slaves are chained to a wall, in such a way that they cannot move freely or turn their heads towards the entrance of the cave, from which the only light that illuminates them comes.

In this way, slaves spend their entire lives looking at the shadows that this light casts on the walls of the cavern, without suspecting that it is the projection of the forms of the people and the animals that pass, out there, through the mouth of the cave. And therefore, the slaves consider that these forms are in reality the things themselves, the very reality that surrounds them, and they invest time and effort in their study to try to decipher the true meaning of the life. For them there is no difference between shadows and real objects, since they do not even suspect the existence of the latter.

Now suppose that one of these slaves manages to free himself from his moorings and, while the rest sleep, he escapes from the cave to the surface. At first the immense amount of light and the intense brilliance of the colors blinds, stuns and paralyzes him. He is forced to wait for his poor eyes to get used to the light, and when they finally do, he is slow to understand that those objects he sees correspond to the light. shadows that he already knew and that the latter are but a reflection, an illusion, a silhouette of only real and true objects: animals, flowers, people.

Finally, he realizes the truth of the situation he was in before, and in a rapture of compassion, he He decides to leave the world of light and return to the cave, to tell his companions what he has seen and it is understood. On his way back, however, his eyes now accustomed to the light fail to perceive the path well, and When he finally returns to his companions, he does so with a hesitant step, often falling, like a madman or a drunk.

When he finally manages to explain to his fellows what he has seen and what awaits them on the other side, no one seems willing to believe him. Instead, they make fun of him, brand him crazy. And when, finally, the returned slave decides to tear them all from his chains to accompany him to witness the outside world, the other slaves rage at him, fight to stop him and end up, sadly, by murdering him.

How should this allegory be interpreted?

The allegory of the cave (sometimes called the cave myth, even though it is not actually a myth) is a metaphorical explanation of how our perceptions of reality and what is the role of philosophy in life, as proposed by the Greek philosopher Plato (c. 427 - 347 a. C.) at the beginning of the seventh part of its Republic.

According to Plato's thought, we are all, to some extent, like slaves who are already born in the cave, because we know only what they have told us. taught to look: we only know the silhouettes that our culture and our education propose to us, even if they are only a reflection of the truth of the existence.

However, through philosophical thought and the methodical use of reason, it is possible to leave this cave and approach the truth of existence, that is, build new perspectives, new ways of understanding what we used to give by the way. You can even help others to break their own chains and search for the source of light, and that is, somehow, the role of philosophy and education: to help us emerge from the cave of ignorance.

An important aspect of the allegory is that the slaves in the cave are not to blame for being born there, nor are they otherwise with which to compare their own deductions, so that they may have a natural resistance to doubting what they take for certain. For this reason, Plato warns us of the risks that this implies: the inhabitants of the cave are not always willing to abandon it, and many are so comfortable in it that they will prefer not even to consider the possibility that there is a real world out there. Some will even go to the extreme of fighting to defend their right to remain, or to silence the philosopher who returns with news shocking, with ideas that could change what is understood by reality at any moment.

This last Plato knew from experience, since years before he had witnessed the trial of his teacher Socrates and how he had been forced to choose between exile and death.

References:

• "Allegory" in Wikipedia.
• "Allegory of the cave" in Wikipedia.
• "Allegory of the cave" in the National University of San Martín (Argentina).
• "Plato: the myth of the cave" in Philosophy.net.
• Plato on: The Allegory of the Cave ”(video) en The School of Life.

What is an allegory?

Is named allegory to a Literary figure that tries to represent by means of human, animal or everyday figures, an abstract concept that would otherwise be more difficult to communicate. In other words, the allegory consists of the metaphorical explanation of a concept, using a simpler scenario that symbolizes it.

Allegories are common in philosophical and religious thought, and mystical texts like the Bible are replete with them. In fact, Zen puzzles (the koan) or the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and other prophets are usually collected in allegories and parables.

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