Plato: the Analogy of the Cave

Prisoners

• Represent ordinary people.
• Ignorant of the outside word.
• Accept what they are shown represents modern dependancy on media.
• Afraid/Unable to accept change.

Cave

• Prisoners are trapped by their own ignorance.
• Plato believed the body traps the soul.

Shadows

• Prisoners percieved reality is made of the shadows.
• Represent media and art that is created by artists.
• The puppeteers creating the shadows are the government + artists.

Outside world

• Enlightenment
• The world of the Forms, truth, beauty, justice.

The prisoner must be dragged

• He cannot walk as he has been sat so long. (We as a modern society are lazy and accept what we are told as fact)
• The philosophic educator is the one dragging him.
• It is uphill to reach the light and the outside world, enlightenment is hardwork.
• Teaching change is hardwork.

The Sun

• Absolute Good
• Illuminates the Forms
• All living beings depend on the Sun, therefore we all depend on 'the good'

Prisoner's sight

• Gradually the prisoner learns to distinguish Forms from Images.
• He gains his sight as he has learnt the truth.

Prisoner's lack of sight on return

• The prisoner cannot see on his return to the cave, he's been dazzled by truth.
• He returns to englighten the other prisoners (job of philosophers).