Plato's allegory of the cave is the discussion to Glaucon about the quest for truth, how seeking knowledge away from the “cave” will help you see and understand the truth and that it is one's responsibility to come back from that position of enlightenment, to come back to the cave, no matter how reluctant they may be, in order to tell others of their false reality. The discussion goes on to tell about the retaliation that is to be expected from those who dwell the cave when telling their entire perception of reality is mere illusion and that there lies a greater truth. A truth beyond the world sight. And finally, how it is those who come back from a world of knowledge who must lead the people of shadows as politicians instead of those who have fallen in love with themselves and consequentially only fight for themselves and between themselves.
Critical points of discussion were the reception of a new truth and how dwellers of the cave were supposed to react to those coming back and tell them about a new reality. Obviously, when believing in something, it is difficult to let go of that belief once it has been sufficiently established. We looked at the case where someone who had left the cave and acquired much knowledge but did not come back down. How those people, knowing what they do, would have no excuse to act as they do, for it is the responsibility of everyone who seeks knowledge to share it and get rid of a class division and contribute to the collective good. By not coming back down it creates a higher class, probably a selfish and manipulating one.
Questions that have come up were: How are we supposed to act rationally when people constantly question out ability to do so in the first place? do we not just end up acting unreasonably because we are simply skeptic of the truth? How are we supposed to make a difference between what one person tells us is the truth and what another tells us? There is also a talk about knowledge and how it can not be taught, “like sight into blind eyes” and how the power and capacity of learning is innate in the soul to begin with. He follows his next paragraph and talks about art and how that will effect conversion “but has been turned in the wrong direction, and is looking away from the truth”. What does that say about us? Aren't we all here as students of art? How is it, that all the deepest and profound meaning in our art work that can be extracted isn't pointing in the direction of truth and good? Is there even a distinction? if so, then how do we make it? Finally, what kind of responsibility does that put on us as, I suppose, aspiring artists; How are we now supposed to communicate our knowledge and truth?
4 comments:
"By not coming back down it creates a higher class, probably a selfish and manipulating one."
In "The Republic", that is precisely the point. It is more just to keep the public deceived.
"it is one's responsibility to come back from that position of enlightenment"
Where is this implicated in the allegory itself?
hello Morgan, I'd like to reply to your first comment and just say that, although some of our team mates had read the republic, we stayed focused on the text as it were given to us and draw our conclusions likewise as much as possible.
Also, on your second comment, the implication in the allegory is the first paragraph of page 7. It reads:"I mean that they remain in the upper world: but this must not be allowed; they must be made to descend again among the prisoners in the den, and partake of their labors and honors, whether they are worth having or not".
here he is talking about those who have seen the light, that even though it is their nature to stay (page 6) it is their duty to come back.
I hope that clears things up.
In context it reads:
""Then", I said, "the business of us who are the founders of the State will
be to compel the best minds to attain that knowledge which we have
already shown to be the greatest of all -- they must continue to ascend
until they arrive at the good; but when they have ascended and seen
enough we must not allow them to do as they do now".
"What do you mean ?"
"I mean that they remain in the upper world : but this must not be
allowed; they must be made to descend again among the prisoners in
the den, and partake of their labors and honors, whether they are worth
having or not"."
Notice that it is the duty of those who originally ascended into the light to 'compel' the 'brightest hopefuls' of the society to descend and share their wisdom.
I feel like you glossed this dynamic over a bit. Are you sure you can extract from these two paragraphs that it is absolutely "one's responsibility to come back from that position of enlightenment, to come back to the cave, no matter how reluctant they may be, in order to tell others of their false reality." And might they risk seeming ridiculous, as on page 4?
We chose to ignore the political aspects of the allegory (as a document) and instead focused on the allegory itself as a metaphor, and by doing so, came to slightly different conclusions.
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