Responses
In Book VII of The Republic, now remembered as Plato’s greatest work, he talks of the benefits of an education and especially for those who are to govern a state. In this book, he relates most people to prisoners in a cave whose hands and legs are fettered. There’s no question that since they have been imprisoned in that cave since childhood, this is their interpretation of ‘reality’ and life which is not true if they get a chance to see the sun in broad daylight and in all its glory. Being able to see the light reveals the truth and in this case is a metaphor for obtaining knowledge and enlightenment (Plato, 380 BC).
As for the prisoners still in the cave and who see shadows of artificial objects that are shaped like animals or even hear voices of people they cannot see, they would deem that to be real since they have not been exposed to the light much like the prisoner who has been freed. As Plato explains later, these are the ordinary people who go on from day to day with a lack of education and knowledge not being able to see what really matters. This misinterpretation of the shadows, due to their ignorance, is the very reason why they need to be rescued from that cave (Plato, 380 BC). Without a doubt, these shadows are definitely a part of ordinary Life and can be comforting given that ignorance is truly bliss. What is also clear is that these shadows can be events or situations that can be explained with reasoning that comes from an education but without it, it might definitely come across as magic or the paranormal as people prior to the Age of Science experienced. This experience, as we discover now, only breeds fear and poor choices and which is why it is more important than ever for the freed cavemen to go back into the cave and rescue those men who are yet to experience such an enlightening experience. Of course, in an effort to help them see the light, they might laugh at him since they are so sure of the reality that they are used to. It’s very possible that they could attempt to kill the very man who holds the keys to rescuing them from their state of ignorance too. What he is definitely trying to allude here is that what we consider to be an education is not really related to our professions but is the act where putting knowledge into the soul that has not yet seen the light is, for all practical purposes, what a true education purports to be. In other words, since most people are not able to truly discern what, it is the role of the one who has seen the light to show them the same so that they see it for themselves (Plato, 380 BC ; Kreis, 2012).
According to Plato, this is where philosophers come in, much like the men who have seen the light, to share it with those who do not have it as their leaders, so that it might benefit the community, state and the commonwealth - the Philosopher-King (Kreis, 2000). This would be for the greater good and a much better option compared to leaving men without this knowledge to take control of power and office only to serve their unenlightened ends (Plato, 380 BC).
References
Plato. 380 BC. Book VII - The Republic. Retrieved from http://www.rowan.edu/open/philosop/clowney/Aesthetics/scans/Plato/PlatoCave.pdf
Kreis, S. (2012). Plato, The Allegory of the Cave. The History Guide Website. Retrieved from http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html
