ALLEGORYOFTHECAVEINPLATOSREPUBLIC(514A520A)

THEPRISONERS
Youareaprisonerinacaveintowhichnosunlighteverpenetrates.Youcannotrememberatimewhen
youwerenotaprisoner,shackledandimmobile.Infactyoudontevenknowyouareaprisoner.Asfar
asyouareconcerned,yoursituationiscompletelynormal.Youknowthereareotherprisoners.Youve
neverseenthem,becauseofthedarkbutyoutalktothem.Shapesappearanddisappearinfrontof
you.Yougivethemnames,liketree,girl,house,andyoudiscussthemexcitedlywithyourfellow
prisoners. You are satisfied with your life, because the cave is your life. You cannot imagine anything
different.

THEROADWAY
Unknown to the prisoners, this elevated causeway crosses through the cave. No one knows where it
leads. Unseen by the prisoners, lifesized twodimensional cutouts of various objects, like trees,
girls,andhouses,areconstantlybeingcarriedacrossthiscauseway.Becauseofthefire,shadowsof
themareprojectedontothefarwallofthecave.Theseshadowsarewhatthewretchedprisonerstake
toberealobjects.Theygivenamestothem,andtalkaboutthem,becausetheyknownobetter.Infact
theirrealityisnothingbuttheshadowofatwodimensionalcopy.

THEFIRE
Althoughtheprisonersdontknowitisthere,thefireisthesourceofalltheirknowledgeabouttheir
worldofthecave.Withoutitslightprojectingimagesoftheobjectscarriedalongthecauseway,their
liveswouldbelivedintotaldarkness.Therewouldbenothingtolookatandnothingtotalkabout.

EXITTODAYLIGHT
Supposeoneoftheprisoners(wecouldcallhimSocrates)escaped,andmadehiswayuptherough
track and into the daylight. On the way up, hed seen the fire, and the causeway, and the two
dimensional figures.Intherealworld above,tobeginwith,he wasblinded bythesunlight.As he got
usedtoit,theshapes,thecolors,thetexturesamazedhimnowheknewwhatatreewas,oragirl,ora
house. He couldnt wait to get back down into the cave to tell the others. He tried to describe the
brillianceofthelightandbeautyofthethingshedseen.Theprisonerssoongottiredofhisnonsense
and killed him. They preferred the pictures on the wall. They preferred the world they knew and
understood.