The Cave (Plato's Republic, Book 7)

We'll wrap up with Plato for now by discussing probably the most famous thought-experiment in philosophy--the Allegory of the Cave, in Plato's Republic.

Do we see things as they are, or are we just fooled by shadows on the wall? How can philosophy help? Join us next time to find out.

It's hard to overstate the importance of Plato-Socrates to Western (or world) philosophy. The 20th century philosopher A. N. Whitehead stated that the whole European philosophical tradition could be summed up as "footnotes to Plato".

A PDF of the Republic (Bloom translation) can be found here. The discussion of the Cave begins at the start of Book 7, page 193. Hope to see you soon!