PLATO ON: The Allegory of the Cave

Philosophy as a Useful Skill

The ancient Greeks believed that philosophy was not just an abstract exercise, but a useful skill that should be learned and practiced by all. Plato was particularly passionate about this idea and defended philosophy as a kind of therapy for the soul.

The Allegory of the Cave

• Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" is a story intended to compare the effect of education and lack thereof on our nature.

• The story begins with people living imprisoned in a cave, where they can only see shadows thrown up on the wall by a fire.

• These cave dwellers assume that these shadows are real and take great pride in their sophistication and wisdom.

• One day, someone discovers a way out of the cave into the open air, where he encounters true forms of things which he had formerly known only as shadows.

• He returns to help his companions who are still mired in confusion and error but finds it difficult to communicate with them.

Enlightenment and Truth

• The story of the cave is an allegory for all enlightened people. The sun represents reason, while the alienation of the returned philosopher is what all truth tellers can expect when they take their knowledge back to people who have not devoted themselves to thinking.

• For Plato, we are all for much of our lives in shadow. Many things we get excited about are infinitely less real than we suppose they are because everyone around us insists that they are genuine.

• It's not our fault individually; no one chooses to be in the cave. That's just where we happen to begin. We're all starting from a very difficult place.

• The solution, Plato says, is a process of widespread carefully administered philosophical education by which he understood the method of inquiry pioneered by Socrates and known to us as the "Socratic Method."

The Socratic Method

• The Socratic Method is a gentle process that starts with a general declaration of intellectual modesty. Confess that you don't know exactly what the government should do, what wars meant to achieve or how good relationships work. You then get the other person to say what they think and gradually together investigate the answers.

The Method of Talking

This section discusses a method of talking that is founded on the belief that people can eventually work out things for themselves with the right encouragement.

Encouraging People to Work Things Out

• The method of talking is founded on a lovely confidence that with the right encouragement people can eventually work out things for themselves and detect errors in their own reasoning.

• You'll never teach anyone anything by making them feel stupid.

Philosophy as a Road Out of the Cave

This section discusses Plato's insight that we don't have to stay in the cave and how philosophy can help us find our way out.

Finding Our Way Out of the Cave

• We have all started in that cave but it is Plato's deepest insight that we don't have to stay there.

• The road out is called, quite simply, philosophy.

• Philosophy is like the sun whose light we can follow and by whose rays the proper nature of things can become clear.

Wisecrack Channel Recommendation

This section recommends another channel called Wisecrack which shares similar values about making education compelling.

About Wisecrack Channel

• Wisecrack is a smart insightful channel with videos on world literature, philosophy, cinema, history and more.

• Videos are delivered with a playful beguiling sense of humor.

• School of Life and Wisecrack share similar values about making education compelling.

• Viewers are encouraged to visit both channels.