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Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: A comprehensive study.
The story of the Allegory can be found in the Republic book seven @514-517 and a short rendition @ 532a-d. My first tip to anyone who wishes to study the Allegory in depth is to get different translation of the Republic, I prefer the Allan Bloom, but I use several others, particularly if I get stuck sometimes a different twist of phrase can trigger 1the brain into clearer understanding. Plus, they all have very useful notes and snippets. Most commentators ignore the short rendition, but this gives us a firm and sound base from which to start. It goes like this: "Glaucon," I said, "isn't this at last the song itself that dialectic performs? It is in the realm of the intelligible, but it is imitated by the power of sight. We said that sight at last tries to look at the animals themselves and at stars themselves and then finally at the sun itself. So, also, when a man tries by discussion-by means of argument without the use of any of the senses-to attain to each thing itself that is and doesn't give up before he grasps by intellection itself that which is good itself, he comes to the very end of the intelligible realm just as that other man was then at the end of the visible." "That's entirely certain," he said. Republic 532a • •
The image maker his journey takes him to the end of the visible realm. The other man without the aid of the senses reaches the end of the intelligible realm.
This recalls the original charge that Glaucon set Socrates to show the just man leads the more divine life than the unjust man. It goes without saying the just man is the one who attains enlightenment and unjust man is the imagemaker. Before we proceed it is important to grasp the Allegory is there to make us aware that in our societies there are image makers. For example, there are a few influential authors who quote Plato without reading Plato, confidently quoting other people who equally have not read Plato. This shortcutting as unfortunately developed a myth that the beautiful city of the Republic is a totalitarian regime. Every time this false understanding arises it needs nipping in the bud. For illustration of image making Socrates builds an authoritarian state that comes into being and passes away, it is designed at Glaucon’s request to be a poisonous luxurious pig state in chronic illness that needed guardians called swineherds, (372d- 373c). i The pig state is to the approval of the enthusiastic tyrant supporter Adeimantus who’s dying wish is to join his heroes in Hades. These damaging authors are quick to lambast the regime is a failed totalitarian state but fail recognise Socrates is mimicking Adeimantus. The totalitarian state in not what Plato or Socrates are espousing they are ridiculing their rival Isocrates the father of image making. These people never get to book seven (521d -522b) where Socrates also rejects this oppressive regime in favour of the true Callipolis (527c) of the just man. Historically we did not need the great experiments of Hitler and Stalin because Plato was already highlighting the consequences of totalitarian rule. In Platonism there is no 1
The original to this paper was titled the Basics of the Allegory of the Cave, however I decided to reorganise and scrap that one. 21-12-23