The Myth of the Cave
Taking notes and participating in Discussion.
•Underline the lines in the paragraphs we
discuss.
•Write down the points in the slides.
•Write down the questions and the answers
we develop in our conversation.
•You will use this info to develop your points
for your essays.
The Myth of the Cave
•Allegory
•1. A representation of an abstract meaning
through concrete forms; figurative treatment
of one subject under the guise of another.
•2. A symbolical narrative
The Myth of the Cave
• Dialogue—A literary work in the form of a
conversation b/w two people
• Di—A Greek prefix meaning two
• Contemporary meaning allows for
dialogue to be defined as conversation b/w
more than two people.
The Myth of the Cave
• This is not a story or an essay.
• It is a dialogue.
• It is an exchange between a teacher and
his student, Glaucon, who mostly
responds with affirmations.
The Myth of the Cave
• The selection comes from Plato’s The
Republic, a cornerstone of Western
philosophy and a building block of political,
social, and legal thought.
• In ancient Greece Socrates was Plato’s
teacher.
• “The Myth of the Cave” is Plato’s recording
of a lesson that Socrates taught him.
The Myth of the Cave
• The situation the teacher describes is a
group of men who are chained in place in
a cave.
• They are content in their place.
• They view shadows on the cave wall that
are cast by manipulations from outside the
cave.
The Myth of the Cave
• One man eventually breaks free and ‘sees
the light.’
• He returns to the cave to share what he
has learned, but his former cave mates
call him mad.
• This parallels human behavior through the
ages.
• Again it is not literal; it is a figurative.
The Myth of the Cave
• Taking notes and participating in
Discussion.
• Underline the lines in the paragraphs we
discuss.
• Write down the points in the slides.
• Write down the questions and the answers
we develop in our conversation.
• You will use this info to develop your
points for you essays
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraph 1—The first two lines articulate
the purpose of “The Myth of the Cave.”
– A figure about the extent of our enlightenment.
• Paragraph 5—They see only shadows.
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraph 6—how could they be expected
to see anything beyond what they are
shown.
• Paragraph 9—truth would be nothing but
shadows.
• Question: What are some example of
shadow truths—truths we are simply
expected to ingest and regurgitate?
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraphs 11-15,
• What will happen when prisoners are
released and “disabused of their error”?
• How will they respond?
• Why will they not be able to see “the
realities of which in his former state he had
seen the shadows”?
The Myth of the Cave
• How do we get to the point when we can
recognize that what we once thought was
truth was, in fact, an illusion?
• Do we seek refuge in our illusions?
The Myth of the Cave
• The light will dazzle b/c it blinds.
– In other words, truth that replaces our illusions
takes time to settle.
• Paragraph 19—Growing accustomed to
the light occurs in steps.
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraph 17 and 19—The cave escapee
achieves pure, full sight when he sees that
the sun is the source of light (and virtually
everything else).
• Paragraph 27—once the former cave
dweller has achieved full sight (disabused
himself of his illusions), he will recall his
cluelessly blind friends back in the cave.
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraphs 33—The enlightened cave
escapee upon his return to the cave would
“compete in measuring the shadows with
the prisoners who had never moved out of
the den…”
• This means that he would have his new
knowledge held on equal ground with the
blind idiocy of cave dwellers who have not
achieved full wisdom.
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraph 33—His stupid cave friends
would mock him and call him confused.
• They would also say that it is better to stay
in the cave than to leave and return with
weird ideas.
• Question: What examples in our lives and
time could illustrate this?
– Think racial tolerance
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraph 35.
• This paragraph identifies the literal
representations of the events in the allegory.
• The cave is what we are shown in the world.
• The journey out of the cave is the pursuit of
knowledge and wisdom.
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraph 35 continued—“in the world of
knowledge the idea of good appears last
of all, and is seen only with an effort…”
• Meaning, when pursuing knowledge, full
wisdom is recognized only with great effort
and determination.
The Myth of the Cave
• Paragraph 39—Once man has achieved
enlightenment, he will be able to fight for
justice, etc.
The Myth of the Cave
• Cave Examples:
• “That’s gay!”—Morons say things like this
b/c they lack the insight or the motivation to
figure out what the nature of the issue is.
• Also, they lack basic abilities with the
English language.
The Myth of the Cave
•
•
•
•
•
Cave Examples:
Copernicus and heliocentrism.
Galileo and earth as a globe, not a plane.
Al Gore; yes, Al Gore!
People who shake us out of our inert
comfort zones, our stagnant status quos.
• Think of some more examples!