Plato - Allegory of the Cave - The Republic - Book VII

Translated by Benjamin Jowett (1817 - 1893).
The Allegory of the Cave—also known as the Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave—is presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic (514a-520a) to compare "..the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature." It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, narrated by the latter. The Allegory of the Cave is presented after the metaphor of the sun (508b--509c) and the analogy of the divided line (509d--513e). All three are characterized in relation to dialectic at the end of Book VII and VIII (531d--534e).
Plato has Socrates describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato's Socrates, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.
Socrates remarks that this allegory can be taken with what was said before, namely the metaphor of the Sun, and the divided line. In particular, he likens
"the region revealed through sight"—the ordinary objects we see around us—"to the prison home, and the light of the fire in it to the power of the Sun. And in applying the going up and the seeing of what's above to the soul's journey to the intelligible place, you not mistake my expectation, since you desire to hear it. A god doubtless knows if it happens to be true. At all events, this is the way the phenomena look to me: in the region of the knowable the last thing to be seen, and that with considerable effort, is the idea of good; but once seen, it must be concluded that this is indeed the cause for all things of all that is right and beautiful—in the visible realm it gives birth to light and its sovereign; in the intelligible realm, itself sovereign, it provided truth and intelligence—and that the man who is going to act prudently in private or in public must see you it" (517b--c).
After "returning from divine contemplations to human evils", a man
"is graceless and looks quite ridiculous when—with his sight still dim and before he has gotten sufficiently accustomed to the surrounding darkness—he is compelled in courtrooms or elsewhere to contend about the shadows of justice or the representations of which they are the shadows, and to dispute about the way these things are understood by men who have never seen justice itself?" (517d--e)
Summary from Wikipedia

[rabiaaz]

I was too lazy to read it myself so this helped so much. Thank you :)

[tayloradams]

me: *willingly chose this as my assignment*
Me: ...Pft why would I want to read off a pdf? I can probs find an audio.
The video: *audio AND readable words*

[j.tommy.h]

Thank you for this audio! I find it helpful to listen to it as I read, especially with longer texts such as this.

[BandofBrothersSpike]

“Ah you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding!”

― Bane

CAN YOU REPEAT THIS PLEASE :))))

[ramblingsonlife]

Yes I appreciate, too. Makes it easier to listen versus reading.

[beckys.]

This helped so much with my assignment. Thanks!

[ListenAndReadAlong]

Translated by Benjamin Jowett (1817 - 1893).

Glad it was of use...

[pandaman-hzwp]

Wow this is amazing and so helpful! And the voice is perfect for the work

[silver-]

I am learning this book, this is so helpful. Thanks!

[TheMandellaEffectbruh]

I guess I am weird because I enjoyed every word and the meaning behind it all (pun intened)..

[Ibuix]

Did Jerma985 read this?

My thought during the entire thing.

[michaelrichardroberts]

Good is seen only with an effort...

Yes, absolutely, I have so much to say, but I stand back, for you are only half-way through.

[michaelrichardroberts]

At first many people will see you as an idiot, but with time, as this video progresses. and only if they stick with it, will they see that you are not a fool, but very much adorable and that what you are doing is correct. We can only hope!

[isaakbovell]

Thank you for uploading this. :) Was as a huge help to listen back to so I could take notes at the same time. What translation of the Republic is this from?

[driller_]

yo didnt you help write the declaration of independence

[michelledsa]

where can i find a pdf version of this?

[ItsMeMissV]

He was trying to tell us that there's more than our 3D lives; look up sacred geometry and the universe.

[michaelrichardroberts]

While Plato is one of three that taught me...must ask...Plato - Letters to Phaedrus >>>Spinoza - Ethics?

Just out of interest...teacher.

[scrotespseudo-philosophers]

This shook me as a freshman in high school.

[legzfalloffgirl]

Not loving the advocatation of circumcision around the 11 minute mark. FYI, restoration of the foreskin is the most requested penile surgery to date. It's impossible.