the imperfect representations of the true, intangible form. The allegory of the Cave describes best one’s education in the Forms.At first, when one is tied down inside the cave, one sees only shadows. These shadows move and speak; they interact with other shadows. They appear to be what is real because nothing more real than them is seen. These are likened to the things we see everyday; a desk, a chair, the waffle eaten for breakfast. We see shadows but we have no knowledge of anything higher. Plato describes the man’s ascent to the outside world. At first, when he is freed, he turns to see the puppets and cannot comprehend that these objects are creating the shadows, the reality that he has lived with. This could be likened to the first experience one has with the forms. They seem intangible and out of reach. They seem fictitious so one continues to see the shadows as reality. Through great struggle, one finally begins to see the world above. Trees, grass, flowers are seen. The world is full of these objects now, more real than the forms. The person who has emerged from the cave sees that the trees and the flowers make shadows of themselves as light hits them. He now understands that the real objects have been the puppets and what he believed in all of his life has been merely a projection on a wall. When this man realizes this, he is essentially accepting the forms. This is what philosophers, according to Plato, strive for. It is upon recognition of these true forms that one gains better knowledge about the shadows he lived with before. He also remembers those still seeing shadows as what are real and wants to go back and show them the truth.The man has one more surprise. When his eyes finally are able to see everything, finally are adjusted to the light, he begins to study the sun. Plato writes that the man, “concludes that the sun provides the seasons and the years, governs everything in the visible world and is ...
