the Shadow

the material

doubt>|reality|<certainty

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the Shadow

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In the Allegory of the Cave,

Plato describes people

who have spent their entire lives chained

in front of an inner wall

with a view of the empty outer wall.

Only the shadows and sounds

are the prisoners' reality,

distorted and blurred copies

of reality,

of words and images,

perceived through senses.

The inmates of the cave

do not desire

to leave their prison,

for they know no better life.

The shadows

are reality for them

because they have never seen

anything else.

A freed prisoner would look around

and see the light for the first time.

Reason is created from within,

with doubt causing his first glimpse

of his inner light.

If the freed prisoner

had the courage to stay

and adjust his vision,

enduring the agony

of shedding his beliefs,

he would see reality as is.

He would eventually think

that the world outside the cave

was superior to the world

he experienced in the cave.

The returning prisoner,

would see reality,

no longer blindly accepting

images and words,

but determing with reason.

He would have to

make a choice, though.

Keep the light

or join the prisoners,

who choose to dim

their light of reason

to feel safe.

Socrates concludes

that the prisoners,

if they were able,

would therefore reach out

and kill anyone who attempted

to drag them out of the cave,

since most cannot endure the pain

to see reality.

They would prefer

never to know.

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Reality

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Timeline

Started: Yesterday

Completed: Tommorow

Days: -1 day

the material

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