The Myth of the Cave

(Originally written September 10, 2006 in Book 10)

The Myth of the Cave

• Imagine men chained so that they could not leave and so they could not face the entrance of the cave. Now imagine there is a fire burning behind the men. Since no one can turn around all that they can see are the shadows on the wall. There are echoes in the cave so when one hears, the shadows seem to talk. The shadows are what each person believes to be reality because they know nothing else. 
• Now imagine if one person were set free and turned around and walked toward the light. Seeing the light directly and walking a new path would be extremely painful. The brightness would cause him to see only blurry. It would be scary and he would want to turn back to what he could see more distinctly because he would believe that that was the true reality. Now he would be forced to exit the cave and the brightness would cause him to be unable to clearly see anything. Whoever forced him out would then explain to him that this, not the shadows was the true reality. Slowly, he would become accustomed to the brightness and come to know the true reality. If he were to return to the cave his eyes would be full of darkness.
• He would want to enlighten and free those he used to be prisoner with. But everyone else would laugh and say that his eyes had been ruined. They would want to kill him for his belief.
• The Sun in this parable would be the last thing that the released prisoner could get used to and know. This is the Form of the Goodness. Once one knows the Form of the Good one can act in wisdom.
• Every soul is capable of knowing, but the soul must be "turned round" to contemplate the true world, until then the soul is unable to have knowledge.
• The journey is hard but worthwhile. Those living in the shadows are happy in their ignorance, but they do not know they are in ignorance.
• Those in ignorance can develop a crude empirical science, but this would not be useful, in spite of its practical application.
• Those who turn to the sunlight will go to it. And while it is a better life in the sun they will be compelled to free others, in spite of their unbelief.
• For Plato, the good life was not a communion with the Good, but a social life with his fellow men, one in which the good man tries to free as many of his fellow prisoners as he can.

The Way of Ascent

• Beauty is truth and truth is beauty.
• Man is a social being: "If one reaches the top it is only because of an opportunity for association with some initiate who has been willing to descend again into the cave" (Jones, 142).
• The way of ascent is a close association with a great-souled man.
• The way of ascent is a process. One moves from level to level. The view from the top is a vision, a vision of perfect, harmonious completeness.

Proof of the Theory of Forms

• Forms are eternal and unchanging entities which are encountered in thought, not perception.
• Forms were the public world that the Sophists denied.
• Forms function as the objects of the sciences: physical, social and moral.
• Forms are the objective criteria we can gauge our judgements and evaluate on
• What are the proofs for these forms' existence?
• Things like a triangle or notions like justice and equality are said to be existent and we are said to have knowledge of them. But we cannot obtain knowledge of the perfect triangle by viewing triangles on earth because no matter what all sensible triangles have some imperfection, however slight. How can we sensibly perceive things like justice ore equality? We can't. But, since we have knowledge of justice and equality, we must have it from something other than empirical knowledge. Thus, there are forms.
• Generalized Argument:
• Either we know something or we know nothing
• If you claim we know nothing, obviously you know something (which is that we know nothing) But that is a contradiction and thus we have a major problem with your theory.
• If you make no claim then it is pointless to speak to you
• Therefore, we must know something.
• Thus, we must know at least one thing.
• Forms are therefore necessary as a requisite for knowledge.
• This argument rests on the inability of the critic to find a plausible alternative. It does not establish it conclusively thought
• The argument is weak because
• Even if the critic cannot find an alternative, it does not follow that no alternative exists
• Some one may find that alternative
• Mathematics was heralded as the poster boy for forms for centuries. Math was certain because it was not about physical objects and therefore it must be about forms. But, nowadays people say mathematics is not about forms, it is not about objects at all. It's about tautologies. But, whether or not this definition of mathematics is true or not is for other times.