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The Allegory
The Allegory
Philosophy 243
3/26/16
There isnt a more memorable ontological discourse then that of Platos Allegory
of the Cave. This brief section of the Republic outlines the different concepts that form
consequences of ignorance, and the true nature of reality. In this essay, Ill delve into
Platos Allegory of the Cave and compare it to the 1999 movie The Matrix. The Matrix
serves as a modern day philosophical movie that borrows heavily from the Allegory.
Finally, Ill illustrate the similarities and contrasting ideas between Buddhist ideology and
Platos Allegory of the Cave provides the following imagery: When you first enter
the cave, youll see five people facing a wall. Theyre chained and cannot move.
Shadows dance before them against a wall theyre facing. Behind them, men are moving
left to right carrying objects that reflect off the wall. Behind both the prisoners and the
men is a large fire. The chained men can only see the shadows of these objects the men
behind them move around. They cant see the objects themselves unless they turn their
heads and look behind them. Until theyre willing to adjust themselves, the true nature of
what theyre seeing eludes them. All theyll be able to comprehend are shadows.
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To paraphrase some of the material in the Roots of Wisdom (pg 32-34), the cave is
the ordinary world. The chained men and women facing the wall represents humanity,
who know nothing more than the dimly lit cave theyve been born into. Their chains
represent their entrapment in the world of the senses. Most people can only comprehend
what they feel, see, and touch. However, their senses deceive them, as the things they
think are real are only shadows. The people in the background could be thought of as
Puppeteers. These Puppeteers understand the nature of reality but control the way the
chained men and women perceive it by controlling the objects that cast shadows on the
wall. Ultimately, the Allegory teaches us that the chains are self-imposed. In order to
understand the truth of reality, all we have to do is turn our heads and reject the illusion.
We have to move beyond whats in front of us and look deeper into the world around us
in order to apprehend the truth. According to Plato, we can only do this by appealing to
reason, as our senses deceive us. The mouth of the cave is represents the journey from the
world of the senses to the world of reason. Turning toward wisdom is turning away from
the illusions within the cave. Given the Allegorys popularity, its no wonder that many
different forms of media have latched onto the allegory as an underlying storyline. On
such modern day rendition of the allegory can be found in the 1999 movie the Matrix.
There are many comparisons between the Allegory and The Matrix. The Matrix is
about a computer hacker named Neo who goes on an adventure to escape the matrix of
ordinary reality, and save humanity by setting people who are still trapped in the matrix
free. Before he can do this however, Neo must save himself. He can only do this by
gradually learning to accept the world for what it truly is, and his place in it. Neo turns
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out to be the One the Savior of humanity who will help free humanity from the illusory
The matrix itself can be likened to the cave in Platos Allegory. The people of this
matrix are bound to the illusionary world without knowing it. They mistakenly believe
that this world is the only reality since they can see, hear, and touch the world around
them. However, much like the captives in the cave, the objects (i.e the things they see
and experience in their day-to-day life) are simply shadows. The Matrix references this
analogy in the scene that shows Neo escaping the matrix. In this scene we see that Neo
and the rest of the humans are all encased (i.e chained) in pods in the real world. They are
Morpheus is a guide who seeks to help release Neo from the matrix. Oddly
enough, his name in the Matrix hints at his role in the movie since Morpheus is the god of
and leaving dreams as he pleases, much like how Morpheus is capable of entering and
leaving the matrix whenever he wants in the movie. Morpheus is a man whos escaped
the cave and reentered it to help save humanity. When Neo first talks to Morpheus, he
thinks hes insane, which makes sense. Morpheus often references bending the laws of
physics, and wants Neo to do things that could get him killed. In one scene, he tells Neo
to step out of the window into a scaffold thats hundreds of feet off the ground. Neo cant
do this and instead choses to be detained by agent Smith. The Roots of Wisdom references
the fact that the men who have been out of the cave and decided to come back are often
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There are also people in the matrix whore comparable to the men and women
who move objects around and cast shadows that people can see. Those people in the
matrix are the computer programs. Agent Smith, the Oracle, and the Source control
various aspects of the matrix, much like how the people in the fire control the objects in
front of the fire. In one scene Agent Smith detains Neo for questioning. After Neo asks
for his phone call in the detention center, Agent Smith seals his mouth shut, showing that
hes capable of controlling the illusionary laws of reality that comprise the matrix. This
directly compares to the Puppeteers control of the objects behind the captives.
The Allegory of the Cave isnt the only notable ontological discourse about the
nature of reality. There are many belief systems that seem to directly compare and
contradict the Allegory, bringing their own flavor to various concepts within the realm of
metaphysics. Buddhism is one such philosophy that helps shed light on the human
condition.
Much like the Allegory, Buddhism teaches that even though the world around us
seems real its an illusion. This is similar to how the captives in the Allegory gaze upon
the shadows on the wall and assume they are real. However, Buddhism does divorce
itself in many ways with Platos ideology. In the Allegory, Plato explains that though our
preconceived notions of reality are false, reality is actually held in Forms that serve as
templates for the objects themselves. In other words, the physical objects are the Forms
of Platonic metaphysics. The shadows that we mistake for reality are distorted notions of
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the Forms themselves. For example, we can create things that we find beautiful, be it a
chair or a piece of art, but when we do this we arent gazing at the pure Form of Beauty
itself. The only way we can begin to see things as they are is to look at things more
abstractly, i.e. by using logic. Then we can perceive Beauty through abstraction.
In Buddhism however, there are no fixed Forms behind the illusion. Theres only
emptiness. Buddhism emphasizes the interrelatedness of all things and their dependence
on one another in order to exist. An excellent example of this idea can be shown using the
example of a car being taken apart. Imagine a blue car sitting in front of you. If you take
the engine away does it stop being a car? If you take the exhaust pipe away, is it still a
car? What about if you take the seats away? How many parts of the car do you have to
take away before it stops being a car? Eventually, when you take away enough of the
cars parts only an empty space will remain where the car once stood. There are no Forms
behind the illusion in Buddhist Metaphysics. In fact, there isnt anything at all.
That being said, Platonic metaphysics, the Matrix, and Buddhist ideologies all
include the archetype of a Savior figure. In Platos Allegory, this is the individual whos
freed himself from the captivity and stepped out into the light of reason, only to come
back try to convince his fellow man of light inside the cave. In the Matrix, this person
would be Morpheus and Neo who seek to save people from the matrix. In Buddhism,
were introduced to the concept of the Bodhisattva, the Hero who chooses to be reborn
over and over again to help humanity free themselves from a life of ignorance.
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In conclusion, there are many different belief systems that try to explain the
nature of the world around us. The Allegory of the Cave urges us to unchain ourselves
from our ignorance and turn toward reason. The Matrix does the same, providing modern
day examples that borrow heavily from the Allegory. Finally, Buddhism does differ from
the Allegory in many ways, namely in its conception of the nature of reality and the
reason humanity suffers. These studies show the human impulse to know more about the
world around us, and our attempt to discover our purpose. Perhaps one day well
understand. Until then, we can only hope and reach toward the Truth.
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References
greek-god-dreams-who-delivered-messages-gods-mortal-world-002318. Accessed
26 Mar. 2017
Reeves, Keanu, Lawrence Fishburne, and Carrie Ann-Moss, Actor. The Matrix.