Allegory Of The Cave Analysis

Andrea Palenikova, POLI 201/001, Oct 12, 2015

Only a philosopher has a true understanding of what justice is and that is why he should rule. In the allegory of the cave: you can only see the pictures that are shown in front of them. They see the shadows being cast on the wall - to them, the shadows are making the noises. The cave is like an organized political life - when you have a community, you do have these shadows cast and they create a meaning for the city. They do not truly see nor know, yet they are creating images to make meanings. What the people are seeing is not the thing itself; their world is their truth. Socrates is saying that every political community shapes the reality for the citizens. Puppeteers are poets, legislators,

They are trying to give the people something while on the other hand, they could just be giving them nothing. The people in the cave want what the puppeteers are giving them. When a prisoner is freed (escaping the cave), if you try to tell him that the things on the walls are just shadows of nothing, he would be upset and he would think what he saw on the wall was more real than what he sees now. He wouldn't trust you. He is being dragged out of the cave into the daylight. The free prisoner is going to be annoyed and experience pain. There will be intellectual and emotional pain as well as physical. He will realize that the life he had before was just a shadow. They will start to see things illuminated by the sun and obtain a higher degree of knowledge as he starts to gain a knowledge of things as they are. He can't look straight at the sun but at a reflection. This is the same with the good. Cannot fully grasp it but can get nearer to it. Socrates is suggesting that just as eyes adjust to sunlight, we can adjust to the good as we come to understand it better. Life is pleasant in that he is achieving human excellence. It is enriching his soul to be free. He is in some way participating with