Allegory of the cave facts for kids

The Allegory of the Cave, also known as Plato's Cave, is a famous story told by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. He wrote it in his book Republic to explain how education changes us and how we understand the world. The story is like a conversation between Plato's brother, Glaucon, and his teacher, Socrates. It helps us think about what is real and how we learn.

Allegory of the cave

Plato's allegory of the cave by Jan Saenredam, according to Cornelis van Haarlem, 1604, Albertina, Vienna

What is Plato's Cave Allegory?

Plato's Allegory of the Cave describes a group of people who have been chained inside a cave since they were children. They face a blank wall and can only see shadows. These shadows come from objects passing in front of a fire behind them. The prisoners believe these shadows are their only reality.

Allegory of the cave. From top to bottom:

• The sun ("the Form of the Good")
• Natural things (forms)
• Reflections of natural things (mathematical objects)
• Fire (The visible Sun)
• Artificial objects (physical/visible creatures and objects)
• Shadows of artificial objects, allegory (image, illusion, analogy of the sun and of the divided line)

Life in the Cave

Imagine a cave where people are chained so they can only look straight ahead at a wall. They cannot turn their heads to see each other or the cave around them. Behind them, there is a fire. Between the fire and the prisoners, people walk by carrying different objects or puppets.

These people walk behind a low wall, so the prisoners only see the shadows of the objects they carry. The sounds of the people talking echo off the walls. The prisoners think these sounds come from the shadows themselves. For these prisoners, the shadows are their entire world. They do not know that what they see are just shadows of other objects, or that there is a real world outside the cave.

Escaping the Cave

Now, imagine one of these prisoners is set free. When they turn around, the bright fire would hurt their eyes. It would be hard to see the real objects that were casting the shadows. If someone told them that these objects were more real than the shadows, they might not believe it. The pain from the light might make them want to go back to what they know – the shadows.

But what if someone forced them to go up a steep, rough path out of the cave? The sunlight outside would be even more blinding at first. It would hurt their eyes and make them unable to see anything. Slowly, their eyes would adjust. First, they might only see shadows outside. Then, they would see reflections in water. After that, they could see real people and things. Eventually, they would be able to look at the moon and stars at night. Finally, they could even look directly at the sun. Only then would they truly understand what the sun is and how it lights up everything.

Going Back to the Cave

Socrates then explains what would happen if this freed prisoner went back into the cave. Their eyes, now used to the bright sunlight, would be blind in the darkness of the cave. The other prisoners, who never left, would see this. They would think the journey outside had harmed the returning person.

They might even believe that leaving the cave is a bad idea and that no one should try it. Socrates suggests that if they could, the prisoners might even try to kill anyone who tried to drag them out of the cave. This is because they would see the outside world as a threat to their understanding of reality.

What Does the Allegory Mean?

The Allegory of the Cave is connected to Plato's idea of "Forms" or "Ideas." He believed that the world we see with our senses is not the most real world. Instead, there are perfect, unchanging "Forms" that are the true reality. For example, a chair you see is just a copy of the perfect "Form" of a chair. Knowing these Forms is what Plato called "real knowledge" or understanding "the Good."

The philosopher in the story is like the prisoner who escapes the cave. They try to understand these higher levels of reality. Plato believed that the smartest people should not just stay in this higher understanding. They should go back to the "cave" and help others learn and understand the truth.

Plato also used other ideas to explain this, like the "Analogy of the Sun" and the "Analogy of the Divided Line." The sun in the allegory represents the "Form of the Good." Just as the sun gives light so we can see, the "Form of the Good" helps us understand truth and knowledge.

The "Divided Line" is another idea that shows different levels of reality and understanding. It suggests that we start by seeing shadows and reflections (like in the cave). Then we move to seeing physical objects. After that, we can understand mathematical ideas. Finally, we reach the highest level: philosophical understanding of the Forms. The journey of the prisoner leaving the cave is like moving up this divided line of understanding.

The divided line – (AC) is generally taken as representing the visible world and (CE) as representing the intelligible world

How Plato's Cave Influenced Others

Plato's Allegory of the Cave has been very important in Western thought and culture. Many thinkers, writers, and filmmakers have used its ideas.

• Francis Bacon used the idea of "Idols of the Cave" to describe how our personal biases can stop us from seeing the truth.
• The book A Species In Denial by Jeremy Griffith talks about the allegory.
• Many movies show ideas similar to Plato's Cave, like The Matrix, The Truman Show, and City of Ember. These films often show characters who discover that their world is not what it seems.
• The novel Room by Emma Donoghue was inspired by the allegory.
• Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451 explores similar themes of reality and what people believe.
• In the TV show Legion, the allegory is used to explain narcissism, which is when someone is too focused on themselves.
• H. G. Wells' story The Country of the Blind is like the "Return to the Cave" part of the allegory. A man who can see tries to explain sight to a village of blind people, but they do not believe him.
• C. S. Lewis's books The Silver Chair and The Last Battle also use ideas from the Cave. Characters learn that the world they know is just a "shadow" of a greater, true reality.

See Also

In Spanish: Alegoría de la caverna para niños