Plato Account of the Interior of the Cave

In the account of the interior of the cave, Plato talks about three men born in a cave. The men are chained while facing away from the cave’s entrance; hence, they cannot see what happens in the outside world. Since the men face the wall opposite the cave’s entry, they can only see reflections captured on the wall opposite the cave’s entry and the noises from the outer world. Eventually, one of the men captured inside the cave successfully escapes. Although he is initially threatened by the light outside, the hope that he will get better experiences in the outside world encourages him to proceed. In the end, the man manages to adjust to the light in the outside world. To the man, the experience outside is a revelation he has never experienced before. Going by the experience of the three caved men, the major themes that emerge include differentiating between illusion versus reality, education and enlightenment, and the role of the enlightened.

Enlightenment

One of the dominant themes from Plato’s account of the interior of the cave is the importance of enlightenment. Enlightenment is the release of a man from their tutelage; the inability of men to use their understanding without being directed by another (Burch, 2011). Self-incurred tutelage occurs not because one lacks reason but because one lacks the resolution and courage to use one’s understanding to determine which direction to pursue. Plato emphasizes that it is incumbent upon people to find the courage to see their reason before acting decisively.

Plato points out that laziness and cowardice are the primary reasons why most people remain in tutelage after being released by nature from external tutelage. People choose to stay in their comfort zone because they fear that it takes a lot to face their fears (Burch, 2011). For instance, one may not exercise because they think they have good healthcare insurance coverage and access to top-notch medical practitioners who can provide quality care. As a result, one will avoid the strain associated with exercising since they have money to pay a guardian to do the irksome work. Plato further emphasizes how guardians take advantage of the fear factor to make it look like those yet to be released from their tutelage cannot go ahead alone (Burch, 2011). These guardians create a picture that if these individuals attempt to go all alone, they will likely encounter insurmountable challenges. Plato avers that “To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (Plato, 2010, p. 2). Overall, Plato’s message on enlightenment is that those who fail to make the first step out of their mental imprisonment will be taken advantage of by others who have already discovered the secret to success.

Illusion versus Reality

The story of the men in the cave also illustrates the difference between illusion and reality. The men in the cave believed in their eyesight based on the reflections they saw on the wall, yet this was just a reflection of the events occurring outside and not necessarily the reality. After one of the men broke free and had an experience of the outside world, he realized that they were living in illusions all along. In the story, Plato emphasizes that people cannot differentiate illusions and reality (Moss, 2006). After breaking free and experiencing the outside world, one of the men initially imprisoned in the cave tried to convince the other two men remaining in the cave about the good experiences outside. However, the remaining men opposed breaking free to the extent of seriously opposing the idea. They went ahead and tormented the one who tried to break off, almost driving him to suicide.

In the contemporary world, organizational leaders face the challenge of resistance to change due to the inability of members to tell the difference between illusions and reality. The fear of embracing change is due to people being accustomed to their comfort zones, such that they do not wish to move to the next step (Moss, 2006). Additionally, the fear of the unknown clouds people’s judgment, thinking they may lose some favors if they embrace change.

For instance, technology adoption faces significant resistance in most organizations due to the fear of losing jobs, being rendered redundant, or losing power within the organization. In particular, most employees are scared that artificial intelligence may lead to some of them losing jobs and would rather stick with the status quo. The immediate cause of such fears is technology alarmism, which blurs employees’ ability to distinguish illusions from reality. In this case, the illusion is that the current structures are fine, while the reality includes the benefits that may result from technology usage. There is a need for leaders to be patient and use outstanding communication skills to try and convince organizational members to accept change.

Role of the Enlightened

The interior of the cave account solidifies the role of the enlightened to help those stuck in the prison of ignorance. In the story, the man who broke free from the cave represents the enlightened individuals in society. Despite the resistance they may face, they are responsible for educating others and helping them to see the light (Burch, 2011). As leaders, the enlightened should catalyze the change they desire to see in society. Plato states, “Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner” (Plato, 2010, p3). To achieve that, the enlightened should share their knowledge in a bid to influence those who face self-incurred bias to question their beliefs. Besides, the enlightened should lead society by taking charge of governance.

A good example of a situation where the enlightened should intervene in the contemporary world is by driving social and political change. In particular, the educated members of society who have been exposed to how systems in the developed world function. Using their broad academic, social, and academic knowledge, the enlightened can trigger others who lack exposure to align with aspirations of changing society. In some jurisdictions, the enlightened have played a crucial role in leading protests to advocate for governance changes and, in some cases, regime changes.

Conclusion

Plato’s account of ‘the interior of the cave’ implores people to free themselves from self-incurred tutelage. Three key themes emerge from the story—differentiating reality versus illusion, enlightenment, and the role of the enlightened in society. While in mental captivity, people may not distinguish reality from illusions, and they tend to stick to their illusions due to lack of exposure. The account also emphasizes that people need the courage to overcome their fears and see the good and positive experiences in the world through enlightenment. If they do not overcome their fears, guardians may leverage this ignorance and use them. Ultimately, it is incumbent upon the enlightened to share their knowledge and help those still stuck in a ‘cave’ to overcome their fears.

References

Burch, K. (2011). An enlightenment “experience” and Plato’s parable of the cave: Reflections on a vision-quest gone awry (pp. 6–16). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ960322.pdf

Moss, J. (2006). Pleasure and illusion in Plato. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 72(3), 503–535. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1933-1592.2006.tb00582.x

Plato, B. (2010). The allegory of the cave. Brea, CA, USA: P & L Publication.

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Essay One: Beginning to Philosophize Richard Schumaker Please respond to one and one only of the following questions in a carefully written essay of 3–6 pages.
Your essay should have a formal introduction, body, and
conclusion. Before writing the paper you should read Plato’s Cave, The Apology, The Symposium, and view our class videos. Also, search the Web to see many graphic versions of the Cave. Please be sure to use a cover sheet that has an image
and a title that reflect the thesis of your paper. In the introduction to your essay, please underline the 1–2 sentence main idea of the paper

Plato’s Account of the Interior of the Cave

1.Identify and describe the four main parts of Plato’s Cave. Show how each part has relevance to your life. Be very specific about places, dates, and people.
2. What are the three most important themes in Plato’s account of the interior of the Cave? Please identify and describe with quotations from the text. Finally, show how each of these themes is relevant to life today.
3. Find at least four drawings of the Cave—not counting the ones we did in class which are masterpieces and have few faults. Identify three aspects of Plato‘s Cave as described in Republic VII that are seldom if ever included in the drawings that one sees. Why do you think these aspects are omitted?