In this allegory, Plato described the reality ob manifested to ordinary people, as the movement of shadows along the cave wall. He conceptualized it as a projection, a reflection of the world unfolding in front of the cave entrance and inaccessible to the observers sitting with their backs turned to it. The central point of the allegory – the ascent from the Cave into the light – signifies the path of cognition of the intelligible, unchanging Truth (Lawhead, 2014). This point can be utilized in political philosophy: the one who has learned the meaning of things and is not content with speculations and assumptions will manage a state better. Blind is the ruler who has little knowledge of the essence of anything and who does not have a clear image of it in his soul. The sense of opposing the reality and the perceived in the Cave myth is epistemological and is tied to the replacement of reliance on sensory cognition with mental comprehension.
The reality of the Cave is the illusion of the Truth of our sensory knowledge. The eyes cannot be trusted, and only in the bright sunlight one can cognize the idea of the Good (or strive for it, recognizing it in the beautiful). Looking at the shadows in a cave is like not seeing anything. The first world – the world of sensory cognition – is not worthy of trust: feelings are changeable, chaotic. The second world – the kingdom of reason and measure – the world of Ideas, the world of true knowledge.
This allegory is part of Plato’s reflections on the essence of the state and public administration. The state should be governed by a philosopher, a lover of wisdom, who does not limit his knowledge to the sensory world (Lawhead, 2014). His goal is to see things as they are, to know the idea to which all of them are subordinated. Everything is subordinated to the idea of Truth and strives for it.
Comprehending the idea of the Virtue is a complex process. Only a philosopher, a lover of wisdom, can cognize Ideas since this lot is exceptionally challenging. First of all, the philosopher must see and discard all the impurities that connect him with the world of sensory knowledge. To cognize the Virtue, one must be patient and cognize it in separate parts (C Luce, 2017). If we are not able to grasp the good with one idea, then we will capture it in three – beauty, proportion, and Truth. Putting them together, as it were, we say that this is the real reason for what is contained in the mixture, and thanks to its goodness, the mixture becomes good.
Not everyone can contemplate ideas, “see” them, and, probably, only a philosopher can do it. Things, as opposed to ideas, can be seen and grasped by anyone, and the area of sensory cognition is appearance. However, visibility is an illusion of reality, and according to this, things are illusory. The World of Ideas is the true reality, and the Cave myth in Plato’s representation of assimilation to misconceptions in which sensory cognition results. Thus, the Plato represents metaphysical dualism, the idea of splitting the body and soul and approaching the two as fully separate entities (Lawhead, 2014). The Cave is likened to the appearance and illusion of feelings, the Sun – to Truth and ascent to the idea of Good. In his myth, Plato unambiguously opposes the world of ideas and its flat projection, perceived by people as a sensory reality.
References
C Luce, D. (2017). The Cave of Oblivion Platonic Mythology in Child of God. In C. Eagle (ed). Philosophical Approaches to Cormac McCarthy. Routledge
Lawhead, W. F. (2014). Cengage Advantage Series: Voyage of discovery. A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. Cengage Learning.