The allegory is explaining the difficulty of knowing what is real. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven and he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?” - Plato’s Republic Socrates, The Cave and Modern Society “He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. A truly new reality.īut what shadows are we still following today? They step out into the luminous light of the sun to see the true cause of everything around them from the light, their sight, and the even greater multitude of objects around them. The former prisoner’s curiosity further invigorates, drawing their attention to the great light beyond the cave. However, an even greater light burns beyond the cave.

The now-former prisoner would first look upon the fire, creating the light for the statues that created the illusion of their former reality. At first, the light would bring their eyes pain, but after adjusting their eyes would grow accustomed to the new rush of light-a new understanding of reality. If they were to do this, they would be able to turn and see reality for what it is. The idea of the cave is to find a way for the prisoners to unshackle themselves from the shackles placed upon them. Since the shadows are all the prisoners ever see, they assume the shadows are the “real” objects. The shackles of the prisoners prevent them from turning to see the true nature of their reality-the false light of the fire! Now, between the fire and the prisoners, there is a wall where puppeteers can walk with statues on their heads creating shadows on the wall in front of the prisoners. Behind them, a fire burns projecting a shadow in front of them.įor Plato, the realm of forms is a more true reality, where the shadows are what most in society are comfortable following.

The cave holds the prisoners in chains as they sit along a wall of the cave facing the back of the cave. So for Plato, those who are oblivious to the realm of forms (non-physcial essences of all things), are like prisoners stuck in a cave.

The cave plato