Plato, a well-known Greek philosopher, has many preserved writings, including his allegory. The Allegory of the Cave. This allegory was made to explain part of Plato’s worldview, as a highly-respected philosopher.
This allegory starts with people chained to rocks inside a cave, a little odd I know. These people are trapped, facing a wall in the cave their whole lives, never seeing other creatures, or anything really. However, there is a light source coming from outside of the cave, shining on the wall. This allows the people to see shadows of creatures, trees, other people, vague images of the world.
Plato goes on to explain this, so what is he talking about with all this nonsense? Well, in his allegory, these people think that they’ve seen other people, trees, animals, when really they’ve never seen anything but vague shadows of what is real. Plato tells us that this is everyone, we see what is in front of us, vague and unexplained it may be, but rarely do we choose to leave our cave. Plato believed that he and other philosophers of his time were seeing outside of the cave. They see beyond the simplified facts of the world, to look for what lies beyond.
When you think about it, this makes Plato sound like he feels superior to many, but in a way this was true. We are all capable of looking beyond the cave. For example, when I see a painting I can look at it and see the literal picture, a tree, or an animal. Or, I can look at it and see that simple, curious beauty, but also look past it and figure out what it means to me. If I think a lamb symbolizes innocents and peace, then that might be what I find in the painting. Plato loved to think that he wasn’t thinking simply, which he wasn’t. We are all capable of asking ourselves profound questions, looking past the simple images, in stories, history, art, music, and philosophy. There is something there for you to discover beyond the known facts. Find it, let others see it, ask them what they find. Do you think you have left the cave?
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