James Baquet

Plato was the greatest of the Greek philosophers. The early 20th-century British philosopher A. N. Whitehead (somewhat excessively) claimed that “the European philosophical tradition consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”

Plato’s primary theory is that there is a world outside of this one which contains “forms” or “ideals,” perfect models of the imperfect things found in this world. No triangle, for example, is drawn perfectly, but all triangles reflect that perfect model found only in the world of forms.

One of the most fascinating illustrations of the idea and its implications is called “the allegory of the cave.” It’s found in Plato’s “Republic,” primarily a work on the just society.

Imagine, he writes (through his primary character, Socrates) that there is a cave in which people have been imprisoned since childhood. The mouth of the cave is partially obstructed by a wall, against which the prisoners are chained. They can see nothing but the back wall of the cave.

Outside the cave is a fire. Between them and the fire people carry puppets and objects. The prisoners only see their shadows on the back wall; they cannot see the objects, nor the shadows of the people carrying them. Because they have never seen anything else, the prisoners believe that the shadows are the only reality.

Occasionally, a prisoner escapes and sees the “real” objects. Some escapees are somewhat blinded by the fire, and find it hard to believe that the real things are really real. They return to their comfortable place against the wall.

But every now and then, one of them, a true philosopher, sees the outside world as it really is. With his new knowledge, he returns to the cave to tell the others what he has seen. But he has been blinded by the sun, and the others take his blindness as a sign that they should not attempt what he has done: They should remain in the cave. In fact, if they were not restrained, they might even kill the “prophet,” considering him a danger to their society.

The cave, of course, is our world. The shadows are what we see in it, and the “real” objects are the forms found in Plato’s theory. The experience of the philosopher/prophet, I think, is self-explanatory.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. tied down, held in place

2. one speaks the truth

3. blocked

4. fair, equitable

5. too much

6. obvious, needing no explanation

7. symbolic story

8. ones who escape

9. main

10. consequences, results

ANSWERS: 1. restrained

2. prophet 3. obstructed 4. just

5. excessively 6. self-explanatory 7. allegory 8. escapees 9. primary 10. implications