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![]() At least, I know I’m not in one.” This response is telling. For example, one student of mine recently said, “Well, this is a nice little story that Plato wrote, but, you know, there really isn’t any cave. Glaucon’s response is quite typical and instructive for the education process. But Socrates rightly tells him, “They’re like us” ( Republic 515a). ![]() Glaucon’s initial response to this perplexing image no doubt mirrors our own response as contemporary readers: “It’s a strange image you’re describing and strange prisoners” ( Republic 515a). then also imagine that there are people along the wall, carrying all kinds of artifacts that project above it, statues of people and other animals, made out of stone, wood, and every material. Imagine that along this path a low wall has been built, like the screen in front of puppeteers above which they show their puppets. Also behind them, but on higher ground, there is a path. Light is provided by a fire burning far above and behind them. They’ve been there since childhood, fixed in the same place, with their necks and legs fettered, able to see only in front of them. Imagine human beings living in an underground, cave-like dwelling, with an entrance a long way up, which is both open to the light and as wide as the cave itself. Here is a brief summary of the story that Socrates tells about “the soul in its uneducated state” ( Republic 514a): Like Augustine’s dramatic recollections of the pear-stealing episode and Descartes’ thoughtful ruminations over the ball of wax, Plato’s skillful use of descriptive language concisely evokes themes of startling intellectual complexity along with their nearly universal applicability. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave presents us with one of the most enduring images in the philosophical canon. After presenting Glaucon with the images of the Sun and the Divided Line to consider, Socrates next proffers the Cave, which describes our soul in its lack of education ( Republic 514a). But perhaps recognizing the limitations of human reason, and certainly acknowledging the conceptual limitations of his interlocutors, Socrates offers an alternative method of inquiry. Does he, the paradigmatic philosopher, simply give up, refusing to go along the rough, steep upward way of thought? Of course not. What is this? Socrates, relentless seeker of truth, stops here, just on the threshold of leading his fellow travelers to the good itself. ![]() So, let’s abandon the quest for what the good itself is for the time being, for even to arrive at my own view about it is too big a topic for the discussion we are now having” ( Republic 506d-e). Socrates replies, “that, my friend, would satisfy me too, but I’m afraid that I won’t be up to it and that I’ll disgrace myself and look ridiculous by trying. He assures Socrates that they will be “satisfied if he discusses the good as he discussed justice, moderation, and the rest of the virtues” ( Republic 506d). He urges Socrates on, imploring him not to “desert us now with the end almost in sight” ( Republic 506d). Socrates’ main interlocutor, Glaucon, is excited by this evocation of the good. As a result, the soul misses the benefit that the good may provide” ( Republic 505e). It cannot adequately grasp what it is or acquire the sort of stable beliefs about the good that it has about other things. It divines that the good is something, but it is perplexed. ![]() ![]() He explains, “Every soul pursues the good and does whatever it does for its sake. In the middle of Plato’s grand thought experiment, The Republic, Socrates describes the relationship between the soul and the good to a group of eager listeners. By Anne-Marie Schultz, Professor of Philosophy and Director of BIC ![]()
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