Hello everyone, my name is Demizmue
and this is my assistant, the Foot. Today we will talk about two of Plato’s
allegories, the allegory of the Cave and the allegory of the Sun. We already did the analogy of
the Line in the last video, so please check that one out as well. Oh, and make sure to subscribe
and leave a like if you do like the video! Last time we talked about how
Plato differentiates realms of existence and establishes a hierarchy of being, to
which corresponds a hierarchy of knowledge. The lowest form of knowledge is imagination,
which deals with shadows and illusions, next step is true belief are concerned with
sensual, real things, then comes the understanding which deals with the objects of mathematics, while
the highest knowledge is reason, which knows the Forms. The analogy of the cave is one of the most
famous stories in the history of philosophy which paints this hierarchy of being and knowledge.
It describes the passage from ignorance toward true knowledge and everything in between.
The cave, which we can see here, is a dark place. It represents ignorance. Prisoners are
chained in this cave, they cannot move and they cannot turn their heads. They are stuck in this
prison of ignorance and forced from childhood to look at a wall. Behind them is fire, emitting
light and between them and the fire is a wall. Standing behind a wall are shadowy puppeeters,
moving and carrying carved figures of humans and animals. The puppeteers use the light
of the fire to project shadows on the wall, which the prisoners observe. And the prisoners see
these shadows moving in front of them on the wall. Since they have been imprisoned in this cave from
childhood, this is all they know – this is their reality, this is what they think is reality!
But this is ignorance according to Plato – you believe, but you believe in
shadows, in illusions, in projections of the real things! All you can have here are
opinions, opinions which aren’t even true, but based on copies of the truth, on projections and
the inability to turn around, to move your mind. But then something happens. A prisoner is
released! He stands up and manages to turn around. At first he is blinded by the glare
of the fire. The first step toward knowledge is painful, you must abandon your
prejudices, you have to leave behind everything you knew up to this point. But then
the prisoner starts to see shrouded puppeteers, he sees the carved figures! He realizes that
everything he saw up to this point were shadows, imitations of these figures and he realizes –
not these shadows, but the carved models are the true beings! He believes that he now knows
the truth! If the chains and the wall and the shadows represent false belief, the level of
imagination, the lowest level of knowledge, the fire represents true belief, the level of
correct opinion, the knowledge of the sensual, real things represented by the carved figures!
But the prisoner then moves even further, he exits the cave and is confronted by the
Sun. And again, the prisoner will be blinded by the intense light of the sun, he makes
again another step toward higher knowledge and first he can see only reflections in the
water. This is the level of the understanding, the level of the knowledge of abstract
shapes, the level of mathematics and science! Finally, the prisoner is accustomed to the
light of the sun and sees the realest of all things – the origin and true models for all
imitations – the Dog itself, the Human itself, he is now using reason and can see the Forms
themselves. He can also look at the Sun as well, he sees it clearly. In the previous videos we
talked about how there is a Form above all other Forms, this is the Form of the Good. And in the
analogy of the Sun, the Sun stands for the Form of the Good. Just like the Form of the Good makes
all Forms into perfect models for everything else, so does the Sun nourish the real Dog and the real
Human. The Sun is the source of all existence in the material realm, and the Form of the Good
is the source of existence in the ideal realm. But the Sun has another important function.
It is not only the source of existence, but also the source of all knowledge. Why? Because we
can only see things, like the Dog and the Human through the medium of light. The sun, by emitting
light, connects the eye with what the eye sees. By analogy, the Form of the Good connects reason
with the Forms, only through the Form of the Good can we know perfections themselves, the Forms.
But what happens now? The prisoner returns to the cave, wanting to set free the rest of the
prisoners! But now, coming form the outside he goes back into the dark cave and he is again
blinded, unaccustomed to the sudden darkness, just like when you put out the lights and can’t
see for a while. And he approaches the prisoners who are still observing the shadows. But he can’t
see the shadows so clearly anymore, his sight is impaired by the darkness, because he is now used
to the light and the knowledge of the Forms. And when he tries to explain to the prisoners that
they are in fact being fooled by the puppeteers, they laugh at him and ridicule him. They say
to him – you can’t even discern these things and speak of higher ones! They do not
believe him, and keep looking at the shadows, thinking that these things are real
and that they, and not him, know best! They remain in the cave, which is ignorance,
the prisoner, who travelled outside is the one in possession of true knowledge, he saw the Sun,
the source of all existence and truth, while the journey itself is the path toward knowledge.
In the next video, we’ll talk about the knower itself, the one who makes the journey – the Soul!
Thank you very much and until next time!
