The Cave
Plato’s The Cave is an allegorical story which Socrates was telling one of his followers Glaucon to explain to him the difference between a philosopher who seeks wisdom and others who aim to remain in ignorance. In the story, Socrates tells of a group of people who have been chained facing an empty wall their entire lives. They are unable to look anywhere, except the wall. Right behind them is an assembly line of items that are constantly going by which are reflected onto the wall by the light which comes from the fire that is behind the objects.
The shadows that pass on the wall become the reality of the people who are facing the wall because it is the only truth that they know. So, they give names to the objects and they accept them without question. One day a prisoner is freed from the wall and when they are turned towards the light of the fire, it would cause them great pain. This would cause him not to see the objects that had been reflected on the wall. What if someone was telling them that everything that he saw on the wall was the illusion and the items that they can now see before them are the reality. This would of course confuse the individual, who would seek at first to deny the reality that is now before them. However, once they accept them knowledge of their new reality, they would be unable to return to seeing the images on the wall as the truth. When the person reenters the cave, they will again be blinded because they are used to the light. They people who are chained to the wall would refuse to follow them back out of the cave because to them the reality of what is outside of the cave is much worse then what is in front of them.
The story was used to demonstrate the idea that humankind often chooses to remain in ignorance because they do not want to dismiss their own reality and accept new ideas. This is because they realize that to see a new truth they would have to look at reality from a different angle and that it could cause them pain. Therefore, they choose to remain in ignorance, unlike the Philosopher, who seeks that pain of reality and truth, so that they can obtain knowledge of the world around them. It is then the responsibility of the person who has been freed from the cave to share the information that they have learned, despite the reluctance and fear of those that remain in the cave. It is only through sharing their knowledge that they can help the others face their fear of the light and to gain the same understanding that they have.
The Apology
The Apology by Plato is the legal defense that Socrates presented at his trial when he was being charged with corruption of the city’s youth and irreverence to the gods. The story is one of the four stories in which Plato tells of the trial and subsequent death of Socrates. At the start of the story Socrates asks the jury if they have been convinced by the men who are levying accusations against him of his guilt. During his trail, Socrates corrects others and seeks to be judged by his truthfulness rather than by the words that he uses. He then proceeds to speak in the language of the common people. The jurors, who expect him to use Sophist language give him the chance to speak with the ornate wording that they expect. When Sophocles refuses to do so, even under the threat of death. The jurors condemn him to death.
The story tells that there were three men who accused Socrates. They were Anytus. Lycon and Meletus. Anytus who did not like the ideas that were put forward by the Sophists chose to put accusations against Socrates because of a conversation that he had overheard. Sophists believed that people should not focus so much on rather an action was wrong or right, but on if and how it benefits the agent. Many felt that the idea of morality and conventions were something that was used by rulers to control their subjects. Sophocles himself thought that one should fight against the ideas that they felt were destroying morality. He felt that the Athenian people were living their lives selfishly and that they were only focused on what they could gain from others in terms of money and power. These individuals used the philosophies put forth by the Sophists to justify their views and actions. Sophocles decided to designate himself as a gadfly so that he could force others to look at their own morals by annoyingly stinging them with his moral code. Therefore, he spent his days in the center of town talking to whomever would converse with him on their lives and the need for them to examine their beliefs and the way that they were living.
In the conversation that was taking place between Socrates and Meno, Socrates asserted that virtue was something that a person was born with and that it could not be taught. He said that there were several politicians within Athens that have sons that were not as virtuous as themselves and were therefore inferior to their fathers. Anytus is offended by what Socrates has said and warns him that his opinions may cause trouble for him in the future.
Lycon joined because he felt that Socrates was aligned with the Oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants, which was a pro-Spartan group. The Thirty Tyrants were responsible for the death of his son. He argued that Sophocles teachings hurt the rhetoricians because they were taught things that were untrue. They would then pass these untruths to others. This would cause two things to occur (1) false information would be spread throughout the city corrupting everyone that heard it, or (2) the Rhetoricians would be seen as lacking knowledge by not speaking out against what Sophocles had put forth.
Meletus who spoke during Socrates’ self-defense speech did not harbor any offense against Socrates himself, but acted on the behalf of Anytus. During Socrates cross-examination of him. Meletus proves that he is unable to defend his accusation against atheism against Socrates when he accuses him of worshipping demigods.
The charges that are put upon Socrates stem from prejudices that the politicians and others in power have against him. Socrates argues against the accusations of corruption and creating new gods by using his accusers’ words against them in such a way that “Socrates is committing an injustice, in that he makes inquiries into things below the earth and in the sky; and makes the weaker argument the stronger; and teaches others to follow his example” (“Apology”).
When he is accused of being a Sophist, Sophocles argues that he cannot be one because they are thought to be wise men by the Athenians and are paid for their teachings. Since Socrates was a poor man, he could not be a Sophist. On the charges of corruption, Socrates contended that the men follow him because they have too much money and nothing better to do with their time. They then choose to emulate him because they listen to him speak to others and want to speak in the same intellectual manner. When the young men do this, it causes embarrassment for the older men. This is because they are unable to support their arguments. Their anger at themselves for their ignorance is the reason that they choose to bring charges against Sophocles.
Historical Context of The Cave and The Apology
Plato was a member of an aristocratic family in Athens. The political upheavals that Plato saw growing up caused him to become a Rhetorician and to speak out against the corruption of the city and its politicians. Plato was not interested in politics himself as a result of two events. The first was the Oligarchy of the Four Hundred and Thirty. The Four Hundred and Thirty took power after the Peloponnesian War and returned the city to an Oligarchy. He felt that the new government was unstable and tyrannical. Plato wanted the Democracy that had ruled Athens before the war to be destroyed. However, after the trial and execution of his mentor Socrates, Plato began questioning his views on Democracy.
The Socrates lived in Athens when the city fell to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. The conquest of Athens meant the end of its Golden Age. It was during this time that Sophocles would speak in the forums to anyone who chose to listen. In 399 BC, he was brought upon on charges of corruption and impiety because he had connections to others that were no longer had political favor in the city.
After Socrates’ death Plato continued teaching the philosophy and knowledge of Socrates. Eventually he created the Academy, which would last nearly a thousand years and would be the inspiration for Western education. At the Academy Plato and other scholars taught epistemology, ethics, mathematics, metaphysics, politics and sciences. The Apology was written by Plato and was meant to provide an honest portrayal of Socrates. Plato also wanted to fix Socrates’ reputation after his execution.
He would later write The Republic which contained the story The Cave. His purpose in telling the story was to enlighten humankind to their ignorance. This is because most people are content knowing only what is in front of them and not questioning or concerning themselves with the world around them. This was Plato’s impression of the people of Athens, especially those in power. He felt that Philosophers were superior in knowledge because they sought answers outside of what they had been taught. He seems also to want to continue Socrates’ goal of pointing out the complacency of the Athenians. This is why the people who are facing the wall do not want to be free and have to turn away from the wall. To do so would mean that they would have to accept that they were wrong about their reality. Therefore, they choose to stay in ignorance rather than experience the temporary pain of knowledge. In The Apology, Plato is also speaking of ignorance and how a lack of knowledge resulted in Sophocles being convicted and executed on false charges, just because he chose to look at things in nature and society from a different perspective.
In conclusion, the Cave tells of humankind’s tendency to shy away from anything that they see as painful. (Plato) In his opinion it is the Philosophers who are brave because they choose to face the reality of situations and to ask questions and gain answers outside of conventional means. This is because to them gaining knowledge is the most important thing is the world and they do not want to be stuck in a world of darkness looking at shadows because they are not willing to blind themselves for a few minutes so that they can see the truth.
It also speaks of how those who feel as though they are going to be forced to see the error of their ways and to suffer the pain of reality often seek to threaten those who compromise their ignorance with violence. This is what the 500-man jury did in Athens when they put Sophocles on trial. His accusers were not comfortable with the knowledge that he imparted to the men of the city, because they felt that he was threatening the status quo and that his teachings would result in the city’s young men questioning life and what they had been taught. Plato by writing both stories was essentially saying that Sophocles death was a result of people choosing to remain ignorant and the fear that knowledge would make a person wiser than those around them.
Works Cited
Plato. "Apology." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature, classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html.
---. "Plato's Cave." My Webspace Files, webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/platoscave.html. Accessed 30 Jan. 2017.
