Ancient Greece gave the world the wise men whose teachings laid the foundations of modern sciences. Their works and thoughts do not lose their significance for millennia. Such works include Plato's “Myth of the Cave”, an analysis of which, a summary, and accepted interpretations are presented in the article.
About Plato
Plato is a philosopher of Ancient Greece, whose works are studied and inspire many followers. Born in Athens, in a family whose roots came from the ancient kings.
Plato received a complete education at that time and began to write poetry. Acquaintance with Socrates and their friendship became an incentive to delve into philosophy. In Athens, he will establish his school, where he will transfer knowledge to many worthy students.
Plato's works are framed in a non-standard form of dialogue, most of which are conditionally conducted with Socrates.
The philosophical foundations are not laid out in a clear order, in his dialogues they pass as a system of ideas. Plato's “Cave Myth” is one of his allegorical justifications for the theories of human society and belief in higher powers.
"The myth of the cave" Plato. Summary
Plato's “Cave Myth” is his allegory, which the philosopher uses to explain his theories. We can find him in the work "State", in the seventh chapter. Plato’s “Cave Myth” is briefly reviewed below.
The beginning of the myth is a description of the scene: "an underground dwelling, like a cave." There are people in strong shackles that do not allow them to turn to the light or look around. These people see only what is right in front of them. They are facing the fire and the light that it gives. Nearby passes a wall, behind which other, free people carry different things: statues, household items and luxuries. People who are prisoners of the cave do not see the objects themselves, but only their shadows. They examine them, give names, but their present appearance, color, and the very essence of objects are inaccessible to them. Likewise, the sounds that they can hear, the prisoners in chains, people mistakenly attribute to shadows. They do not see true objects, but only shadows and their idea of them.
"The myth of the cave." Climax
The Platonic Cave Myth reveals its ideas quite dynamically and smoothly.
Further, Plato, in his dialogue with Glavkon, develops the plot as follows: he leads the reader to the idea of how a prisoner will behave if he is released and allowed to look at things whose shadows he saw. The interlocutor of Plato says that it would be painfully painful for the former prisoner, here "you need a habit."
Both Plato and Glavkon recognize the high probability that a liberated prisoner of the cave will be able to understand and accept the essence of real objects, leaving their shadows as an erroneous perception. But what happens if the prisoner comes back? Plato and Glavkon come to the conclusion that, having returned to the cave, the former released will try to open his eyes to his companions. Will it be accepted and understood by them? Unfortunately, no, he will be ridiculous and insane for them until his eyes get used to the darkness and the shadows again fall into place of real shape. Moreover, his environment bound in eternal fetters will consider that his freedom and stay outside the cave made him unhealthy and that they themselves should not strive for liberation.
Thus, Plato explains the desire for a higher idea by the individual and the attitude of society towards this desire.
"The myth of the cave" Plato. The meaning is clear and hidden
The myth, which is not even a separate work, has become the property of both philosophy and many other scientific movements, each of which has found its own hidden meanings. Here are the most justified and explicit aspects of the meaning of myth from a human point of view:
- sensuality and supersensibility. Shadows are visible by the senses, voices are heard by them. But you need to make an effort to understand the essence of things. It is supersensibility that is the application of mental effort;
- the state as fetters, release and return (this aspect has many variations and subtopics);
- visibility and impression. A person sees a shadow, but does not see an object. He projects his impressions onto the shadow, so the response replaces the concept itself;
- human lifestyle. Alignment only with the senses is a limited, ascetic being. Mental efforts to evaluate what is seen are hypersensitive perception, a philosophical assessment.
Myth analysis
There are works that can be discussed for a long time, and they will give them no less for reflection. This is the "myth of the cave" of Plato. It has many images and ideas that have been the subject of study of philosophers all over the world for millennia.
Consider the importance of the image of the cave:
- Restriction. The cave limits the appearance of a person, his mental activity. Cave as a framework for human cognition. If her prisoner goes beyond, the foundations within them do not change and they no longer take him back. The cave itself seems to protect itself from destruction. If the people inside her saw at least once the sunshine, they would give everything to get out of the darkness. But the cave covers this light from them, and the lone prophets have no faith.
- The cave as a state. A controversial idea. Plato himself never put emphasis on such a perception of his images. But perhaps he feared for his school and students. Such ideas, declared publicly, could seriously harm him. Therefore, Plato created the “State”, “The myth of the cave” by placing it in this work.
Finally
Plato's “Cave Myth” is his way of expressing, in one fragment, the basic ideas of perceiving the world, state, and the place of man in it. Everyone can interpret his ideas in the way the worldview and worldview commands him, from this the value of this nugget of world philosophy will not decrease.