Plato's cave allegory, explained
The short answer
Plato's cave: chained prisoners mistake shadows for the world. One climbs to the sunlight, then returns to people who cannot believe him.
0:28History of ideasBeginnerPlatoallegory of the cavephilosophyThe Republic
Chapters and transcript
- 0:00
Prisoners facing a wall
Chained since childhood, the prisoners face a cave wall. All they have ever seen of the world is the shadows moving across it.
- 0:07
The fire behind them
Behind the prisoners a fire burns, and objects are carried past it on poles. The shadows on the wall become their whole reality.
- 0:14
The climb to the sun
One prisoner is freed and dragged up into the daylight. The light hurts; slowly he sees real things, and at last the sun itself — Plato's image of the Good.
- 0:21
The return
He goes back down to tell the others. They are sure the journey ruined his eyes, and Plato adds that if they could, they would lay hands on the man who tried to free them.