Plato's Allegory of the Cave uses the imagery of prisoners chained in a cave to distinguish between appearance and reality. The prisoners only see shadows cast on the cave wall by a fire behind them. They believe these shadows constitute true reality. If one prisoner is freed and sees the true forms of reality outside, they will struggle to readjust upon returning to the cave. The allegory illustrates Plato's theory of forms, which asserts that abstract concepts like beauty and justice have perfect, eternal forms that exist beyond the physical world.

1. Allegory of the Cave
Theory of Forms
PHI101
SECTION : 15

2. PRESENTED BY
 SAFIUL AZAM BHUIYAN
 MD FUAD HASAN
 MOHAMMAD RAHIM
 MEHEDI HASAN SAZEEB
 CHANDRA KAMOL DAS
 SAMIHA AHMED
 HABIBA TU JUYENA

3. Plato on Reality
 Most of Plato’s writings are not about nature, but his
concepts of reality and knowledge have had a profound
impact.
 These are characterized by two well-known passages
from his dialogue, The Republic.

4. Allegory of the Cave
(Analogy of the Cave)
What is an allegory?
 The ‘Allegory Of The Cave’ is a theory put forward by Plato,
concerning human perception. Plato claimed that knowledge
gained through the senses is no more than opinion and that, in
order to have real knowledge, we must gain it through
philosophical reasoning.
What is an analogy?
 A comparison made to show a similarity.

5. Purposes of the Allegory
Plato’s Cave Allegory has a number of purposes:
1. distinguish appearance from reality
 it is possible to have the wrong understanding of the things we see, hear,
feel, etc.
2. explain enlightenment
 moving from ‘shadows’ to ‘the real’
 involves pain, confusion
 makes you an outcast is a one-way trip
 improves you, but makes you a nerd
 makes you mentally clumsy
 cannot be taught, you must see for yourself

6. Purposes of the Allegory (cont.)
3. introduce the Theory of Forms (or Ideas)
 the allegory provides for an analogy:
 Two realm- Physical & Spiritual
What is Forms?
Abstract, perfect, unchanging concept exist in the forms.
Its more real

7. The Allegory of the Cave,
 Imagine a cave in which prisoners are chained
and seated so that they all face one way,
toward a wall.

8. The Allegory of the Cave
 Also in The Republic, Plato explains the route to knowledge and the
responsibilities of philosophers through an allegory about prisoners
in a cave.
 The prisoners have been there all their lives and know nothing of
the outside world.
 The prisoners have been there all their lives and know nothing of
the outside world.
 All that the prisoners see are the shadows cast on the wall before
them.
 This is the lowest segment of the Divided Line.

9. The Allegory of the Cave,
 Behind the prisoners is a fire, which they
cannot see, that casts the shadows on the wall
before them.

10. The Allegory of the Cave,
 Between the fire and the prisoners is a parapet,
or walkway, where people are crossing back
and forth with strange objects held above their
heads.

11. The Allegory of the Cave,
 Everything the prisoners see or hear is bounced
off the wall. They therefore think of that as
the true reality.

12. Saving the Phenomena
 The key is to show the real causes of the phenomena
that are sensed by the unenlightened.
 To show how a lower part of the divided line is
accounted for by a higher part.
 This is called Saving the Phenomena. (Or, Saving the
Appearances.)

13. Saving the Phenomena,
 Examples would be:
 Explaining to the prisoners that the shadows they see are
caused by the fire behind them and the people walking on the
parapet.
 Explaining that night comes when the sun is no longer visible
in the sky.

14. Platonic Forms (Ideas)
In virtue of what are these two things red?
It’s not the paint, dye, pigment, light waves, frequency of waves, etc., that makes the circle
on the left red, that makes the circle on the right red, because all that stuff is over there
(on the left) rather than over here (on the right) … similarly, it’s not the paint, dye,
pigment, light waves, frequency of waves, etc., that makes the circle on the right red,
that makes the circle on the left red, because all that stuff is over here (on the right),
rather than over there (on the left).
So, in virtue of what are they both red?
Notice that ‘red’ is a singular term … the subject is plural, but the predicate is singular!
These are not ‘reds’. How can this be?!
How then, can two things be one thing?!

15. Platonic Forms
In virtue of what are these two things circular?
It’s not the curve of the border that makes the circle on the left circular that makes
the circle on the right circular, because that curve of the border is over there
(on the left) rather than over here (on the right) … similarly, it’s not the curve
of the border that makes the circle on the right circular that makes the circle on
the left circular because that curve of the border is over here (on the right),
rather than over there (on the left).
So, in virtue of what are they both circular?
Notice that ‘circular’ is a singular term … these are not ‘circulars’!
How then, can two things be one thing?!

16. Aristotle’s Universals
Aristotle rejected Plato’s Forms as entities that exist separate from the things that
instantiate them.
He held, instead, that the Forms exist only
 in re (in things), and
 not ante rem (not before things)
and, that we know them by lifting them out of sensible objects by abstraction
 simple (just noticing a feature of something)
 common (recognizing two features are one and the same)
 precise (cutting off reference to all other features)
It is the last kind of abstraction Aristotle believes Plato uses, illicitly, to derive his
concept of separated Forms

17. Aristotle’s Universals
There are Forms only for those qualities, relations, and kinds that
 have existed,
 exist, or
 will exist
What it means to be a universal is to be ‘predicated of many’.
His emphasis on language led medieval commentators to follow suit, and
seemingly led to both
 Conceptualism (universals are concepts in the mind), and,
 Nominalism (universals are a mere ‘puff of voice’; universal words)

18. Symbolism
 The allegory contains many forms of symbolism used to describe
the illusions of the world.
 The cave represents the superficial world for the prisoners.
 The sun that is glaring the eyes of the prisoners represents the real
truth of the actual world.[3]

19. CONCLUSION