Republic (Book VII) by Plato
This post is part of my journey through the classic texts of Western civilization.
The Allegory of the Cave
We start Book VII with what is easily the most well-known part of the Republic: Plato's allegory of the cave. It is quite the brilliant analogy and picture that Plato paints. On the slight chance that you are unfamiliar with the allegory of the cave, imagine a cave where people are all facing a wall. They cannot move at all due to being tied down; they cannot even turn their heads to look at anything else. These people have been imprisoned like this from childhood, and so this is all they have ever known. Behind and above them is a bright fire, illuminating this wall. In between the fire and these prisoners is a walkway, where people pass by, carrying various objects and what not. What would these prisoners see? They would see the shadows of these people and objects cast onto the wall, but they would not see the actual people and objects themselves. Thus, the shadows are reality to them, even though the things that are casting the shadows are the truer and more real forms.
Now imagine one of these prisoners was released from his chains. At first he would stumble around, adjusting himself to the fire. The brightness would initially hurt his eyes, and at the sight of the people and objects on the walkway, he would not easily accept that the realities he knew his whole life (the shadows) were not in fact true realities. Not only would he not accept this, the prisoner would run back to where he came from, preferring to reject this awakening and go back to what he had known his whole life to be real.
Now suppose that this prisoner was dragged up and out of the cave, into the full light of the sun and the outside world. Hardly a positive reaction would come out of him at first; no, the prisoner would be angry and even more blinded by the sun than he had been by the light of the fire, which would now seem dim. Slowly, though, his eyes would begin to adjust, first being able to see the shadows in the world, and then reflections of things, and then the actual things themselves. Eventually, he would be able to see the sun itself and reason about what it is.
Would not this man—no longer a prisoner—finally see that this outside world was more real and superior to the world of shadows that he knew inside the cave? He would descend back into the cave in an effort to share this newfound knowledge and reality with the prisoners still in the cave. Yet, just like he reacted at first, these prisoners would not desire to be taken away. In fact, if they were able, they would kill anyone who attempted to drag them out of the cave.
What is Plato's point in this allegory? It is to demonstrate the bondage of the world and the task of the philosopher. Whereas in the allegory, the world that we live in (outside the cave) is the true reality, with the sun being the first principle, it is actually the case that the world that we live in is analogous to the world of shadows in the cave, and Forms are the true realities. It is the true philosopher who makes the ascent out of this world up into the world of Forms, finally reaching the pinnacle as he gains understanding of the Form of the Good. However, he cannot be allowed to remain there; for the sake of the good of the city, he must be willing to descend back into this world in order to rule the people.
"... only if you can find for your future rulers a way of life better than ruling, is it possible for you to have a well-managed city; since in that city alone those will rule who are truly rich, not rich in gold, but in that which is necessary for a happy man, the riches of a good and wise life."
Education of the Philosopher
The conversation returns once again to education, specifically that of the philosopher-king. It is noted by Plato that the goal of education is not merely to provide knowledge but to actually direct the desires of the soul towards the good. A wicked man could be as bright and sharp as the good man, but the wicked man would use his intellect and skills to accomplish evil deeds.
We are reminded that the philosopher-king is both a warrior as well as a philosopher, and thus the education must be suited to both of these roles and their ends. It must not be useless for men of war.
The first study that Plato offers as necessary for the philosopher is the study of mathematics (which includes geometry). Mathematics "compels the soul to use pure reason in order to find out the truth," and "nowhere accepts any amount of numbers as having tacked onto them bodies which can be seen or touched."1 For the man of war, mathematics is necessary and helpful, for a general will need to count his men and ships, arrange them in ranks, measure encampments, etc. The second and most ultimate study is the study of dialectic. Plato says that "no other study could rightly be put above this." Like mathematics, dialectic uses pure reason to obtain the truth; unlike mathematics, dialectic demolishes hypotheses as it proceeds all the way to the first principle, namely the Good.
With the two studies determined, what is next to determine is who shall be given these studies, and how. Most of this has been discussed before, how the best and most virtuous children must be chosen and trained. An interesting insight is Plato's prescription on how the education should not be compulsory but rather made into a game for the children so that they may enjoy the learning and not resist it.
Eventually, the best of the best must descend back into the cave; that is, they must leave their education and take the mantle of rule, whether in political rule of the city or in military rule. When they grow old, these philosopher-kings must educate and raise the next generation of rulers who will take their places.
One can imagine and talk about "one" or "two" as concepts without having to attach any objects to them (e.g. one rock, two horses). ↩︎