Plato's Allegory of the Cave is profound

After Skool, 9/19/23; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The profound meaning of Plato's Allegory of the Cave

(After Skool) This episode explores Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” its connection to ancient myths, and the ultimate narrative archetype we know as the Hero’s or Heroine’s Journey.

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is one of the most influential philosophical concepts ever introduced, encapsulating timeless questions about reality, knowledge, perception, and enlightenment.

Found in Plato’s significant work The Republic, the “Allegory of the Cave” serves as a metaphorical narrative, depicting the human condition’s journey from ignorance to enlightenment.

The Athenian philosopher Plato (circa 428-347 BCE) is one of the most important figures of the Ancient Greek world and the entire history of Western thought [as influenced by Buddhism in Greece, e.g., Ven. Nagasena in Bactria with Greek King Menander known in Buddhism as King Milinda].

In Plato’s written dialogues he conveyed and expanded on the ideas and techniques of his teacher, Socrates.

The Academy, a Greek institution he founded, was by some accounts the world’s first university [behind Buddhism’s Nalanda University and Africa's Timbuktu]. In it he trained his greatest student, the equally influential Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle.

Plato’s recurring fascination was the distinction between ideal forms [reality] and everyday experience [mundane banality subject to perceptual distortions], and how it played out both for individuals and for societies.

In The Republic, his most famous work, he envisioned a civilization governed not by lowly appetites but by the pure wisdom of a philosopher-ruler.

This script was written and recorded by Agrippa’s Diary [and subsequently edited by Wisdom Quarterly]. Visit the YouTube channel @agrippasdiary and instagram.com/agrippasdiary.