Plato's allegory of the cave is rather more prominent (or at least heard of) among laymen (ie those unfortunates not lucky enough to have a very useful and prestigious degree in philosophy).
The story appears in the 7th book of the Republic, as is narrated by Socrates to Glaucon (the latter is Plato's older brother). While the allegory has various more theoretical meanings, Socrates himself notes that it is narrated also with the end to show why the philosophers must not just look down upon non-philosophically trained citizens, and thus return to the prisoners in the cave once they have become familiar with the world of light outside of it.
The narrative presents a situation where a number of people are imprisoned and chained in the edge of a large cave, and there can only observe the shadows on the wall in front of them. Those shadows are created by the movement of other beings who carry objects or idols of objects, and walk behind a tall wall (so virtually themselves do not cast even a shadow, while what they hold does cast shadows).
The prisoners inevitably form the view that the shadows they see are real objects, and thus are employed with examining them and theorising on what they are, how they move, etc, treating the shadows as a primary object and not a weak manifestation of something else.
We aren't told why those people are prisoners, nor how (at some point) one manages to be freed. The freed person is naturally amazed by the new points of view he has even inside the cave. Walking past the large fire in the edge of the cave (which was casting the shadows) he goes outside, where he is at first overwhelmed by the strong light of the Sun.
In turns he is occupied by observing the reflections of objects in the image they form onto the waters of rivers, then looking at the objects by themselves, and, finally, catches glimpses of the Sun, which lights everything.
Socrates explains that those three parallel knowledge of math, knowledge of the abstract Forms (Eide/Archetypes) and knowledge of the Over-Archetype, which he terms "Agathon" (in english it means 'benevolent').
The allegory of the cave is presenting Plato's ties to Eleatic philosophy, and primarily Parmenides, but also Pythagoras. While Parmenides argues that an actual 'reality' exists but is entirely outside anything humans can even infinitesimally grasp by their own sense or thinking, Plato argues that humans can at least have a tie to a shadow of a shadow of some eternal and actual reality, symbolised by the Sun in the story of the cave.
-Are you inside the cave, and if you are then what does a shadow of what is being told form as onto the wall you are made to endlessly look at?
-Philosophy #1 or just more hipsteria?
-Or you can discuss more on this issue, Plato, philosophy etc.
(btw, you can find the text in many places online, and in english. Eg at http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.8.vii.html )
The story appears in the 7th book of the Republic, as is narrated by Socrates to Glaucon (the latter is Plato's older brother). While the allegory has various more theoretical meanings, Socrates himself notes that it is narrated also with the end to show why the philosophers must not just look down upon non-philosophically trained citizens, and thus return to the prisoners in the cave once they have become familiar with the world of light outside of it.
The narrative presents a situation where a number of people are imprisoned and chained in the edge of a large cave, and there can only observe the shadows on the wall in front of them. Those shadows are created by the movement of other beings who carry objects or idols of objects, and walk behind a tall wall (so virtually themselves do not cast even a shadow, while what they hold does cast shadows).
The prisoners inevitably form the view that the shadows they see are real objects, and thus are employed with examining them and theorising on what they are, how they move, etc, treating the shadows as a primary object and not a weak manifestation of something else.
We aren't told why those people are prisoners, nor how (at some point) one manages to be freed. The freed person is naturally amazed by the new points of view he has even inside the cave. Walking past the large fire in the edge of the cave (which was casting the shadows) he goes outside, where he is at first overwhelmed by the strong light of the Sun.
In turns he is occupied by observing the reflections of objects in the image they form onto the waters of rivers, then looking at the objects by themselves, and, finally, catches glimpses of the Sun, which lights everything.
Socrates explains that those three parallel knowledge of math, knowledge of the abstract Forms (Eide/Archetypes) and knowledge of the Over-Archetype, which he terms "Agathon" (in english it means 'benevolent').
The allegory of the cave is presenting Plato's ties to Eleatic philosophy, and primarily Parmenides, but also Pythagoras. While Parmenides argues that an actual 'reality' exists but is entirely outside anything humans can even infinitesimally grasp by their own sense or thinking, Plato argues that humans can at least have a tie to a shadow of a shadow of some eternal and actual reality, symbolised by the Sun in the story of the cave.
-Are you inside the cave, and if you are then what does a shadow of what is being told form as onto the wall you are made to endlessly look at?
-Philosophy #1 or just more hipsteria?
-Or you can discuss more on this issue, Plato, philosophy etc.
(btw, you can find the text in many places online, and in english. Eg at http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.8.vii.html )
