The Allegory of the Cave, by Plato.
Cool Quote:
“Last of all he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as he is.”
You can read the Allegory of the Cave here: https://www.indwes.edu/academics/jwhc/_files/Plato_s%20Allegory%20of%20the%20Cave.pdf.
Socrates is talking with Glaucon. Socrates asks to imagine a scenario where there are chained prisoners in a cave. They can only see the wall of the cave, as they are bound to face away from the entrance. Behind the prisoners is a smaller wall (raised way), and behind that is a fire.
“And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: --Behold! human beings living in a underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.”
Between the fire and the statues, there are men passing, and the men carry many things, including statues and animal figures, which then creates shadows on the wall, which are perceived by the prisoners.
One day, one of the prisoners escapes. He looks back and witnesses the fire, which he is visually pained by. The prisoner then ascends through the cave, and now arrives at the entrance and sees the sun and the outside world, of which he is pained again by the unprecedented glare.
“And suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he 's forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities.”
But eventually, he will become accustomed to the light and be able to clearly see everything, including the sun. This freed man will naturally reason and contemplate about his discoveries, relating things like the sun to the seasonal changes.
Later, the man would return to the cave and share what he found to his patrons. However, his patrons would think that he is crazy and resist the fact that everything they know of the world is false; and they would continue to live by their own conventions, which are now seen as pitiful to the man who has embraced true knowledge. To a further extent, the other prisoners should endeavor to condemn and punish the man for such contentions of reality. Another reason for this, which Socrates states, is that the man is challenging the “experts” of society, which is composed of the prisoners, which the prisoners are supposedly meant to listen to.
“Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it was better not even to think of ascending; and if any one tried to loose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death.”
Socrates then goes on to explain the allegory. The prisoners are representative of normal people, who are unaware of more real things, which are unseen, and are only aware of what they can see. The people think that only the shadows exist, which symbolize the visible world. Ascending the cave and making one’s way to the outside world is an emblem of enlightenment and the acquisition of wisdom. Finally, the sun represents the good, which is the best of what is true and real.
Socrates says that this scenario is an allegory to Plato’s rationalist (believing that knowledge comes from reasons, and not the senses/observation) philosophy*, and how the perceived world is composed of imperfect things, which attempt to mirror the true and perfect objects that are in the “world of forms.” The good is the highest of these perfect objects, which all perfect objects come from and point to.
“His keen eye-sight is forced into the service of evil,”
It is also an allegory to the story of Socrates himself, which Plato would have intended it to be, as Socrates had always sought true wisdom, which is contained in knowledge, and how the many Athenians persecuted and then executed Socrates for this.
Lastly, Socrates remarks on political implications. He asserts that the state must help all people acquire true knowledge, and must deliberately descend among the unwise men of society and help them find wisdom and knowledge. This leads into him advocating for a philosopher king, whom will peacefully rule with wisdom and not just riches.
“You must contrive for your future rulers another and a better life than that of a ruler, and then you may have a well-ordered State; for only in the State which offers this, will they rule who are truly rich, not in silver and gold, but in virtue and wisdom, which are the true blessings of life.”
“And the only life which looks down upon the life of political ambition is that of true philosophy.”
*I will soon provide places to go learn about philosophers, so that you have more context when learning about their works