Plato’s myth of the cave (meaning and history of this allegory).

A metaphor that tries to explain the double reality we perceive.

Plato's myth of the cavern is one of the great allegories of the idealistic philosophy that has so marked the way of thinking of Western cultures.

Understanding it means knowing the styles of thought that for centuries have been dominant in Europe and America, as well as the foundations of Plato's theories. Let's see what it consists of.

Plato and his myth of the cave

This myth is an allegory of the theory of ideas proposed by Plato, and appears in the writings that are part of the book The Republic. It is basically a description of a fictitious situation that helped to understand the way in which the helped to understand the way in which Plato conceived the relationship between the physical and the world of ideas, and how we move through it.and how we move through them.

Plato begins by talking about men who have been chained to the depths of a cavern since birth, never having been able to leave it and, in fact, without the ability to look back to understand the origin of these chains.

Thus, they remain always looking at one of the walls of the cavern, with the chains clinging to them from behind. Behind them, at a certain distance and placed somewhat above their heads, there is a bonfire that illuminates the area a little, and between it and the chained men there is a wall, which Plato equates with the tricks that cheats and tricksters perform so that their tricks will not be noticed.

Between the wall and the bonfire are other men who carry with them objects that protrude above the wall, so that their shadow is cast on the wall that the chained men are contemplating. In this way, they see the silhouette of trees, animals, mountains in the distance, people coming and going, etc.

Lights and shadows: the idea of living in a fictitious reality

Plato argues that, however outlandish the scene may seem, those chained men he describes resemble us, human beings.human beings, since neither they nor we see more than these fallacious shadows, which simulate a deceptive and superficial reality. This fiction projected by the light of the bonfire distracts them from reality: the cavern in which they remain chained.

However, if one of the men were to free himself from the chains and be able to look back, reality would confuse and disturb him: the light of the fire would make him turn away from the chains.The light of the fire would make him look away, and the blurred figures he might see would seem less real than the shadows he has seen all his life. In the same way, if someone were to force this person to walk in the direction of the campfire and beyond it until he left the cave, the sunlight would bother him even more, and he would want to return to the dark zone.

In order to grasp reality in all its details he would have to get used to it, spend time and effort to see things as they are without giving in to confusion and annoyance. However, if at some point he were to return to the cavern and rejoin the chained men, he would remain blinded by the lack of sunlight. Likewise, anything he might say about the real world would be met with derision and scorn.

The myth of the cave in the present day

As we have seen, the myth of the cave brings together a series of ideas very common to idealist philosophy: the existence of a truth that exists independently of the opinions of human beings, the presence of constant deceptions that make us stay away from that truth, and the qualitative change that accessing that truth entails: once it is known, there is no turning back.

These ingredients can also be applied to everyday life, specifically to the way in which we live and work.The way in which the media and hegemonic opinions shape our views and our way of thinking without us even realizing it. Let's see how the phases of Plato's cave myth can correspond to our lives today:

1. Deceit and lies

Deceit, which can arise from a desire to keep others under-informed. or the lack of scientific and philosophical progress, would embody the phenomenon of the shadows that parade along the wall of the cave. In Plato's perspective, this deception is not exactly the fruit of someone's intention, but the consequence of material reality being only a reflection of the true reality: that of the world of ideas.

One of the aspects that explain why lies have such an impact on the life of human beings is that, for this Greek philosopher, they are composed of what seems evident from a superficial point of view. If we have no reason to question something, we do not do it, and its falsehood prevails.

2. Liberation

The act of liberation from the chains would be the acts of rebellion that we usually call revolutions, or paradigm shifts.or paradigm shifts. Of course, it is not easy to rebel, since the rest of the social dynamic goes in the opposite direction.

In this case it would not be a social revolution, but an individual and personal one. On the other hand, liberation implies seeing how many of the most internalized beliefs are shaken, which produces uncertainty and anxiety. To make this state disappear, it is necessary to continue advancing in the sense of discovering new knowledge. It is not possible to remain idle, according to Plato.

3. Ascension

The ascent to the truth would be a costly and uncomfortable process that implies letting go of deep-rooted beliefs. beliefs that are deeply rooted in us. Therefore, it is a great psychological change that is embodied in the renunciation of old certainties and the opening to truths, which for Plato are the foundation of what really exists (both in us and around us).

Plato took into account that people's past conditions the way they experience the present, and so he assumed that a radical change in the way of understanding things would necessarily bring discomfort and discomfort. In fact, this is one of the ideas that are clear in his way of illustrating that moment through the image of someone trying to get out of a cave instead of remaining seated and who, upon reaching the outside, receives the blinding light of reality.

4. The return

The return would be the last phase of the myth, which would consist of the diffusion of the new ideas, which, because they are shocking, can generate a new light.The return would be the last phase of the myth, which would consist of the diffusion of new ideas, which, because they are shocking, can generate confusion, contempt or hatred for questioning basic dogmas that vertebrate society.

However, since for Plato the idea of truth was associated with the concept of the good and the good, the person who has had access to authentic reality has the moral obligation to make other people detach themselves from ignorance, and therefore has to spread his knowledge.

Like his teacher, Socrates, Plato believed that social conventions about what is appropriate behavior are subordinate to the virtue that comes with attaining true knowledge. Thus, even if the ideas of the returnee to the cave are shocking and generate attacks from others, the command to share truth compels us to share the truth with others, the mandate to share the truth obliges us to confront these old lies..

This last idea makes Plato's cavern myth not exactly a story of individual liberation. It is a conception of access to knowledge that is a conception of access to knowledge that starts from an individualistic perspectiveIt is the individual who, by his own means, gains access to the true by means of a personal struggle against illusions and delusions, something frequent in idealistic approaches based on solipsistic premises. However, once the individual has reached that stage, he must bring the knowledge to the rest.

Of course, the idea of sharing the truth with others was not exactly an act of democratization, as we might understand it today; it was simply a moral mandate emanating from Plato's theory of ideas, which did not necessarily translate into an improvement of the material conditions of life in society.

Bibliographical references:

• Bury, R. G. (1910). The Ethics of Plato. The International Journal of Ethics XX (3): 271-281.
• Dillon, J. (2003). The Heirs of Plato: A Study of the Old Academy. Oxford University Press.
• Koller, J. (2013). Chad Meister and Paul Copan (ed.). Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion. Routledge.
• Reale, G. (1997). Toward a New Interpretation of Plato. Washington, DC: CUA Press.
• Rowe, C. (2006). Interpreting Plato. In Benson, Hugh H. (ed.). A Companion to Plato. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 13–24.
• Whitehead, A. N. (1929). Process and reality (en inglés).