Plato characterizes being as eternal, unchanging, inaccessible to sensitive perception and comprehended only by the mind, being is plural. Being in Plato is a form, an idea, an essence. One of the important provisions of Platonic ontology is the division of reality into two worlds: the world of ideas and the world of sensible things. Primary Plato called the world of eternal, unchanging, entities - ideas. Secondary, derived from them, he called the whole variety of the sensually perceived world. To explain the diversity of the existing world, Plato introduces the concept of matter. Matter is the primary material, from which all sensually existing things are made, matter can take any form. The innovation introduced by Plato about the plurality of being - ideas set before him the task of explaining the connection between the worlds, explaining the unity of the world of ideas itself. To resolve this issue, Plato refers to the concept of the one, the one in itself is not being. It is higher than being and constitutes the condition for the possibility of being, that is, the idea of ​​the One is higher than any existence and any multiplicity. The One is identified with the highest good, to which everything aspires and, thanks to which, everything has its being. Cosmology of Plato. Here Plato develops the doctrine of the creation of the deity of the Cosmos from the primitive Chaos. The Creator of the world was kind and wished to arrange everything well, forcing everything in discordant and disorderly movement, he put it in order out of disorder, believing that the latter is better than the former in every possible way. Cosmos, by the providence of God, received being as animated and truly endowed with the mind. Plato was convinced that the celestial bodies are visible gods, possessing a body and a soul. Theory of knowledge Plato believed that man as a bodily being is mortal. His soul is immortal. Only thinking gives true knowledge. Thinking, on the other hand, is an absolutely independent process of recall, independent of sensory perceptions. Only thinking gives knowledge of ideas. Sense perception generates only an opinion about things. True knowledge can only be possessed by those who can overcome the influence of sensual things on them, rid their souls of bodily oppression and soar into the world of eternal ideas. This is only possible for the wise philosophers. Philosophy seeks to comprehend the most essential, the most general in everything that exists, the most important in human and for human life. Wisdom lies in the comprehension of imperishable reality, the realm of ideas, in considering from these supersensitive positions all natural things and human affairs. True knowledge is possessed by the soul, which also consists of three parts: 1) rational, 2) ardent (volitional), 3) sensual. Plato's teaching for the first time raises the question of the relationship between being and thinking of the material-sensory and ideal-essential world. And Plato solves this question unambiguously, affirming the priority of ideas over sensually perceived things.

The myth of the Cave is the core of Plato's idealistic idea of ​​the structure and meaning of human life. This myth is described in Plato's State as a dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon, Plato's brother, and initially, in the text itself, shows the need to manage the Ideal State by philosophers, since it is they who are able to see the real world and act for the benefit of all.

In the Phaedo, Plato brands the sensual world through the lips of Socrates as a prison of the soul, which once again confirms the significance of the Myth of the Cave as the main mythologeme in Plato's idealism, where only the world of eternal ideas is true reality and the soul can access it through philosophy.

Four Meanings of the Cave Myth

Ontological gradation of being: sensual and supersensible, where the shadows on the walls are the mere appearance of things; statues - things that are sensually perceived; stone wall - a line separating two kinds of being; objects and people outside the cave - this is true being, leading to ideas; the sun is the Idea of ​​the Good.

Stages of knowledge: contemplation of shadows - imagination (eikasia), vision of statues - (pistis), i.e. the beliefs from which we pass to the understanding of objects as such and to the image of the sun, first indirectly, then directly, are phases of dialectics with various stages, the last of which is pure contemplation, intuitive intellect.

Human quality of life: ascetic, mystical and theological. A person who is guided only by feelings - lives exclusively in a cave, live in the spirit - guided by the pure light of truth. The movement from the sensible world to the ideal world through philosophy is "liberation from fetters", i.e. transformation. And, finally, the Sun-Good is the highest level of knowledge and means the contemplation of the divine.

Political aspect: for those who have known the Sun-Good, it is possible to return to the cave in order to free and bring to the light of truth those with whom he spent many years of slavery.

The myth of the cave from Plato's dialogue "The State" is one of the main stories in the European theory of knowledge, which fundamentally influenced the entire subsequent tradition. philosophical thought. Even in the 21st century, people regularly remember it, although the times when caves were an actual part of the landscape are long gone. From a conceptual point of view, this myth was the beginning of a discussion about the extent to which our ideas about things allow us to judge the things themselves.

That's what this fragment of the "State" is talking about. Socrates, the constant character of Plato's dialogues and the provider of all kinds of wisdom, is talking with Plato's brother Glaucon. It is about what successes can be achieved on the path of knowledge, about enlightenment and ignorance. Here Socrates resorts to the famous allegory.

He tells Glavkon about the people who are in an underground cave, while shadows pass on the wall in front of them from objects carried outside their field of vision.

It is these shadows that people consider to be genuine things, without even thinking that they are cast by something else.

- People seem to be in an underground dwelling like a cave, where a wide gap stretches along its entire length. From an early age, they have fetters on their feet and around their necks, so that people cannot move from their place, and they see only what is right in front of their eyes, because they cannot turn their heads because of these fetters. People are turned with their backs to the light emanating from the fire, which burns far above, and between the fire and the prisoners there is an upper road, fenced off by a low wall like the screen behind which conjurers place their assistants when they show dolls over the screen.

Behind this wall, other people carry various utensils, holding them so that they are visible over the wall; they carry statues and all kinds of images of living beings made of stone and wood. At the same time, as usual, some of the carriers are talking, others are silent.

- Strange you draw an image and strange prisoners!

- like us. First of all, do you think that, being in such a position, people see anything, whether their own or someone else's, except for the shadows cast by fire on the cave wall located in front of them?

- How can they see something else, since all their lives they are forced to keep their heads motionless?

- EIf everything echoed in their dungeon, no matter what any of the passersby said, do you think they would attribute these sounds to something other than a passing shadow? .. Such prisoners would completely and completely accept the shadows of those passing by items.

(Plato, "The State")

The doctrine of ideas and the Good

The myth of the cave is dedicated to the relativity of perceptual perception and its products (i.e., data obtained with the help of the senses). In addition, as Plato notes, people also “give names” to the vague shadows they see - they consider them to be genuine phenomena that are designated terminologically and are subject to interpretation.

To understand what exactly is distorted, turning into a shadow on the wall of the cave, you need to refer to the Platonic doctrine of the eidos.

Eidos (ideas of things) in Plato's view exist on their own, that is, they have ontological independence. And here are the real things that people deal with in Everyday life- Reflections of ideas.

Ideas are indestructible and eternal, while things can be destroyed. But this is not scary, because having an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat a table is, you can recreate it, or even launch an entire furniture factory.

Some things correspond to their ideas less, some more. It is easy to guess that, according to Plato, the latter are better, because they more fully convey the being of a thing as itself. For example, a crooked and rickety table has gone far from its idea, but a beautiful and stable table copes with stature Fine. However, they are both tables. To recognize the table in such different objects as, say, such and such, according to Platonic teaching, it is precisely the idea that unites them that helps us.

An idea presupposes not only a general idea of ​​a particular thing, but also the very meaning of its existence. The greater the certainty of being, and at the same time the quality factor, the “correctness” of a particular thing (for example, stature table), the more Good is in it. This is another cornerstone of Platonic philosophy. good in Plato, it is rather not “something good”, but something that exactly corresponds to its ontological status.

Good, which is the main and highest subject of knowledge, Plato compares with the Sun, illuminating objects.

In the same way that the sun illuminates objects, the Good allows ideas to be known. In the myth of the cave, this is the light that illuminates objects (and at the same time creates shadows that are accessible to human perception). Good is the reason why knowledge is possible, while it itself is an absolute, the maximum of what can be known at all.

Objective and subjective idealism

Having dealt with the myth of the cave, you can at the same time understand what philosophical idealism as such.

Plato's idea of ​​how things are with ideas has become canonical for objective idealism. According to this philosophical outlook, in addition to the sensually perceived reality and the subject who cognizes it (that is, any person who interacts with the world), there is also a supersensible, extra-material reality. It is generated by objective consciousness - God, the spiritualized Universe or world mind. Only this higher spiritual essence can see the world “as it is”, but a person has to be content with the data of the sense organs and a priori judgments.

In addition to objective idealism, there is also idealism subjective. Here we are talking about the fact that reality, in principle, does not exist outside the mind of the subject. All those data that he receives on the basis of his sensations, impressions and judgments are recognized as the only content of the world. With this approach, reality can exist only in the human mind.

Imagine that we are training an algorithm to recognize objects. He is able to remember a large number of specific objects, as well as their signs, the combination of which makes it possible to define a car as a car, and a dog as a dog. But is the idea of ​​this object accessible to such a robot?

According to Plato, an algorithm that could really see all the eidos and “generate” things based on them would be “divine speculation” that works instead of electricity on the Good. The opinion that such an origin exists, being the guarantor of all forms and things (including those that people cannot know and understand), is idealism.

Copies of copies: paintings as double distortion

One does not have to be an idealist to appreciate the magnitude of the Platonic allegory's contribution to the history of thought. Plato describes the principle human knowledge, trying to understand the relationship between appearance and truth.

In 1929, the French surrealist Rene Magritte, who loved to play with meanings and images, painted the painting "Treachery of Images". There is nothing on it except a realistic image of a smoking pipe with the caption "This is not a pipe."

The combination of image and signature seems at first glance to be a simple illogicality, but technically Magritte does not deceive - we really do not have a pipe, but an image of a pipe. Not only that, in our case, there is at least one more iteration: the original painting "Treachery of Images" is in the Los Angeles Museum of Art, and you are now looking at a digital copy of the reproduction that was posted on Wikipedia. With his work, Magritte launched a new round of discussions about the relationship between things and artistic images in art.

Within the framework of the doctrine expressed in the myth of the cave, things are just copies of eidos. Of course, in the process of "casting a shadow" there are inaccuracies and errors.

By creating a picture, sculpture, or simply retelling something to the best of their ability and vocabulary, people create additional distortions, as happens if you put a photocopy in a photocopier. Art, therefore, is a "copy of a copy": Plato was wary of images, believing that they multiply errors and "untruth".

Can you get out of the cave?

According to Plato, a person who has removed the shackles in a cave and looked at things in the bright radiance of the Sun (that is, who has seen the true essence of things) will panic or even give up true knowledge, because the “right look” out of habit will be painful. It will be easier for such a person to return to the cave - to the previous ideas, because the light can scorch the eyes.

Here it must be taken into account that Plato believed that the “correct view” is in principle possible - the absolute is responsible for it. Of all people, only thinkers who are able to remove the "fetters of unreason" can come closest to comprehending eternal ideas.

By the way, immediately after interpreting the idea of ​​the Good, Plato explains through Socrates: “Do not be surprised that those who have come to all this do not want to engage in human affairs; their souls always strive upward. Is it really surprising, in your opinion, if someone, having passed from divine contemplation to human wretchedness, looks unimportant and seems extremely ridiculous?.

However, even a person who strives to know the Good through philosophy is still a person. According to the Platonic doctrine of the immortal soul, in addition to the “reasonable” and “volitional” parts, it also has a “passionate” one, which is drawn to carnal pleasures and distracts from high motives.

Problems of Cognition: from Plato to Hawking

Over the millennia that have passed since the life of Plato, the research apparatus of mankind has expanded enormously, but it cannot be said that the problems that the philosopher once formulated have been solved.

To what extent does our ability to feel and understand reflect the real state of affairs, and is this “real state”, and if so, who confirms it? Today we can name science as such a confirming authority. However, even when proving something mathematically, we must take into account that "fundamental principles" can only be formulated within our natural limitations - both biological (the human description of physical laws is directly related to our senses) and certain properties of the environment (outside the planet, the laws will be different, not to mention the fact that theoretical physicists may suggest the existence of universes with, say, dozens of dimensions).

“It is impossible to know the true nature of reality: we believe that we clearly understand the world, but, metaphorically speaking, we are doomed to spend our whole life in an aquarium, since the capabilities of our body do not allow us to get out of it ", writes Stephen Hawking, comparing a knowing person to an aquarium fish.

You may remember the blue-or-gold dress epic that split the internet into two camps. Some thought it was gold and white, others thought it was blue and black.

In fact, the dress was black and blue, and the contradictions caused the peculiarities of chromatic adaptation. different people, due to which the blue color may be “unreadable” for some (others ignored the golden hues in the same way). The dress turned out to be one of the most striking known examples of individual differences in color perception, but there are many cases of such optical illusions. In addition to the structural features of the retina (the number of cones and rods), the role is played by exactly how and under the influence of what factors the brain will “correct” the picture, completing the perception.

Jakob von Uexkül denoted the individual world that every living being creates to the best of his cognitive abilities with the word "umwelt". Our umwelt will differ from, say, but there are no abstract concepts. But the world of some worm will consist of several simplest recorded states. The difference in perception between different species is great, but it would be wrong to assume that the umwelts of two representatives of the same species are identical to each other - we can’t even agree on the color of the dress.

So is it possible to get out of the cave?

No one sees the “true” picture of the world, but everyone perceives it to the best of their cognitive abilities. The question is, is it possible in principle to see it, and do we need it?

According to the theory of cognitivist Donald Hoffman, what we think of as reality is actually more like a desktop with icons - a system for labeling and interacting.

Based on calculations and laboratory studies, Hoffman concluded that the fitness of organisms for survival is not related to the ability to perceive "true reality." Tests have shown that the ability to see things as they are is less important than fitness. Evolution is not conducive to true perception. It sounds illogical, because, it would seem, the more accurately living beings see the world, the higher should be the chances of survival.

However, animals use simple cues to survive. For example, Australian beetles recognize females as something brown and smooth, and therefore try to mate even with beer bottles that the locals throw into the bushes. Daniel Kahneman calls the path of simple solutions "System 1" - she, in contrast to the reflective "System 2", makes the simplest and most obvious decisions that most often really work.

Donald Hoffman cites the example of an icon on a computer desktop - if it's blue and square, doesn't that mean the file itself is blue and square? This is just a user interface that allows us to know nothing about resistors and diodes, fiber optic cables and software. Thus, the umwelt interface through which living beings cognize the world rather hides reality. It turns out that it is impossible to get out of the cave - evolution itself sends us into it.

However, according to Hoffman, all this should not disappoint or hint that any scientific knowledge meaningless. Simply the notion that our perceptual faculty supplies us with "true reality" turned out to be wrong.

One thing can be said with certainty: the question of the limits of knowledge and the relativity of cognitive abilities, once posed by Plato with the help of the myth of the cave, permeates all modern sciences from neurobiology to physics. In this story, for the first time in the history of European thought, the difference between “real reality” and ideas about it was formulated so deeply and figuratively.

The myth of Plato's cave is a famous allegory used by the ancient Greek philosopher in his famous work The Republic. Thus, he sought to clarify his doctrine of ideas. This myth in philosophy is considered one of the key concepts of Platonism, as well as objective idealism in general. The myth is presented in the format of a dialogue that another ancient Greek philosopher Socrates leads with Plato's brother Glaucon.

The essence of Platonism

The essence and key to understanding Platonism is called by many the myth of Plato's cave. According to the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher, the cave is a symbol of the sensual world, in which all people living on Earth live.

All these people, like prisoners in a real cave, believe that they will know the true reality. Such a deceptive sensation is created in them thanks to the senses. But in fact, such a life is a complete illusion.

What is happening in the real world, they can only judge by the elusive shadows that from time to time they see on the walls of the cave. Unlike most people, a philosopher has the opportunity to get more full view about the world of ideas. Since he regularly raises questions and finds answers to them. But he has one problem. He cannot make it the property of the whole society. The fact is that the crowd, in the broad sense of this concept, is not able to break away from the illusory nature of everyday perception of reality.

Ancient Greek philosopher Plato

The author of the myth of the cave, Plato, was a student of Socrates and a mentor of Aristotle. He lived in Ancient Greece V V-IV centuries BC. He was the first whose philosophical writings have survived to this day in full, and not in the form of fragmentary passages.

He was born into a rich and noble family. His first mentor was a follower of Heraclitus Cratylus. Fateful for Plato was the acquaintance with Socrates around 408 BC, whose follower he decided to become.

It is noteworthy that head teacher in life remains the same character in almost all Plato's works written in the dialogue format. After the death of his teacher, Plato left for Megara (currently a town located near Athens). Then he travels around the world and only in 387 BC. e. back to Athens.

There he founds his own school, which he calls the academy. According to his contemporaries, he died on the day of his birth.

Plato is famous not only for writing a treatise on the ideal state, but also for putting forward arguments in favor of the immortality of the soul.

According to the philosopher, one of the proofs of this is cyclicality, the fact that opposites presuppose the presence of each other. As an example, Plato said that more is possible only in the presence of less, drawing an analogy, he argued that, thus, death implies the existence of immortality in this world.

After death, according to his ideas, the reincarnation of souls takes place, which, ultimately, remain in an incorruptible state. Another argument in favor of the existence of immortality was based on the heterogeneity of the concepts themselves - soul and body.

Plato also stated political and legal doctrine and his own dialectic, his ethical views on the surrounding reality are detailed in the treatise "Politician".

Treatise "The State"

The myth of Plato's cave is included in his treatise "The State". It is written in the format of a philosopher's dialogue on how an ideal state should look like. According to the philosopher, it should express the ideas of justice.

Plato believed that in any state, without fail there is a division of labor. We need warriors, builders, artisans, farmers.

Plato compared the estates that should be present in the state with the three parts that, in his opinion, are in the human soul. This is the mind, passion and lust part. So in the ideal state, the philosopher saw the upper class, which takes care of the correct way of life for all citizens, the class of guards, which provides external and internal security, and the class of other citizens who must supply everything necessary.

The Platonic myth of the cave is one of the parts of this work.

The myth is given in the seventh chapter of the "State". WITH detailed description place of action begins Plato. The myth of the cave summary which is given in this article, begins in a certain underground dwelling. It strongly resembles a cave. People in it languish in chains that do not allow them to turn to the light and even look around. They can only look at what is directly in front of them.

Next to them is a wall, writes Plato in the Republic. The myth of the cave tells of other people on the other side of this wall. They are free and carry various things - luxury and household items and even statues. People who are imprisoned in a cave do not see the objects themselves, but only observe their shadows. They carefully consider, give them names, but their real essence eludes them and remains inaccessible.

Climax of the myth

The myth of the cave, a summary of which is given in this article, approaches its culmination slowly and smoothly. Plato leads a leisurely dialogue with Glavkon and ponders how the prisoner will behave if he is suddenly released.

Both interlocutors are convinced that, with a high degree of probability, the released prisoner is able to understand and accept the very essence of things and real objects, putting aside their erroneous perception. But what happens if the prisoner has to go back again?

Return to the cave

Plato and his interlocutor Glavkon continue to develop the myth of the cave. Its meaning, in their opinion, is that the comrades will not accept this prisoner, who, most likely, will open their eyes to the true essence of things.

They will surely ridicule him and declare him insane, which will recognize his innocence. And this will happen until his eyes get used to the darkness again, and the shadows return to the place of the real outlines of objects.

The main thing is that all his associates will be convinced that his temporary release brought him only mental illness and problems, so they will not strive to follow in his footsteps.

The essence of the myth

What is the meaning of Plato in this work? The myth of the cave, the analysis of which can be found in this article, is that awareness of the true essence of things is not given just like that. It requires considerable effort and perseverance, which only philosophers can do. Therefore, only they can effectively manage the ideal state. This is the meaning of his statement.

Plato saw the ideal state as aristocratic. The philosophers who should rule it take office at the age of 35 and have been in charge for 15 years.

In the Platonic state, real communism is established, the construction of which was so dreamed of in the Soviet Union. All property is common, there is no concept of private property. Labor is distributed strictly according to estates. There is not even an institution of marriage. All women and children are considered common, they are brought up by the state.

At the same time, the ancient Greek philosopher in his writings zealously criticizes democracy, describing the satirical image of a person committed to this strategy. Plato puts the image of his own ideal state in conflict with four other political devices, which, in his opinion, do not withstand any criticism. These are tyranny, oligarchy, democracy and timocracy (the highest military ranks are in power).

The myth of the cave in fiction

The myth of the cave has become a very popular subject for many works of world literature. For example, the Nobel Prize winner, Portuguese José Saramago put the myth at the basis of his novel "The Cave".

The Spaniard José Carlos Somoza develops this theory in the intellectual-philosophical detective story "The Athenian Murders".

The idea of ​​Plato is also found in science fiction writer Denis Gerber. For example, in the story "We all do not belong here."

Ancient Greece gave the world sages whose teachings laid the foundations modern sciences. Their works and thoughts do not lose their significance for thousands of years. These works include Plato's "Myth of the Cave", an analysis of which, a summary and accepted interpretations are presented in the article.

About Plato

Plato is an ancient Greek philosopher whose writings are studied and inspired by many followers. Born in Athens, in a family whose roots came from the ancient kings.

Plato received a complete education at that time and began to write poetry. Acquaintance with Socrates and their friendship became an incentive to delve into philosophy. In Athens, he will justify his school, where he will pass on knowledge to many worthy students.

The works of Plato are framed in a non-standard form of dialogues, most of which are conventionally conducted with Socrates.

Philosophical foundations are not set out in a clear order, in his dialogues they pass as a system of ideas. Plato's "Myth of the Cave" is one of his well-known allegorical justifications for the theories of human society and belief in higher powers.

The Myth of the Cave by Plato. Summary

Plato's "Myth of the Cave" is his allegory, which the philosopher uses to explain his theories. We can find it in the work "The State", in the seventh chapter. Plato's "Myth of the Cave" is briefly looked at below.

The beginning of the myth is a description of the scene: "an underground dwelling, like a cave." There are people in strong chains that do not allow them to turn towards the light or look around. These people only see what is right in front of them. They are facing away from the fire and the light it gives. A wall passes nearby, behind which other, free people carry various things: statues, household items and luxuries. People who are prisoners of the cave do not see the objects themselves, but only their shadows. They examine them, give names, but their real appearance, color, the very essence of objects is inaccessible to them. Likewise, the sounds that they can hear are mistakenly attributed by people in chains to shadows. They do not see the true objects, but only the shadows and their idea of ​​them.

"The Myth of the Cave" climax

Plato's "Myth of the Cave" reveals his ideas quite dynamically and smoothly.

Further, Plato, in his dialogue with Glavkon, develops the plot as follows: he leads the reader to think how the prisoner will behave if he is released and allowed to look at things whose shadows he saw. Plato's interlocutor says that it would be excruciatingly painful for the former prisoner, here "you need a habit."

Both Plato and Glavkon recognize the high probability that the released prisoner of the cave will be able to understand and accept the essence of real objects, leaving their shadows as an erroneous perception. But what happens if the prisoner comes back? Plato and Glavkon come to the conclusion that, returning to the cave, the former liberated will try to open the eyes of his comrades. Will it be accepted and understood by them? Unfortunately, no, he will be ridiculous and crazy for them until his eyes get used to the darkness and the shadows again take the place of real outlines. Moreover, his chained environment will believe that his freedom and being outside the cave made him unhealthy and that they themselves should not strive for liberation.

Thus, Plato explains the striving for a higher idea by the individual and the attitude of society towards this striving.

The Myth of the Cave by Plato. Meaning explicit and hidden

The myth, which is not even a separate work, became the property of both philosophy and many other scientific movements, each of which found its own hidden meanings. Here are the most reasonable and obvious aspects of the meaning of myth from a human point of view:

• sensuality and supersensibility. Shadows are visible to the senses, voices are heard by them. But it is necessary to make an effort to understand the essence of things. Precisely supersensibility is the application of mental effort;
• the state as fetters, liberation and return (this aspect has many variations and sub-themes);
• visibility and impression. A person sees a shadow, but does not see an object. He projects his impressions onto the shadow, so that the response replaces the concept itself;
• human lifestyle. Alignment only to the senses is a limited, ascetic being. Mental efforts to evaluate what he saw - supersensitive perception, philosophical assessment.

Myth Analysis

There are works that can be discussed for a long time, and they will give no less topics for reflection. This is Plato's "Myth of the Cave". It contains many images and ideas that have been the subject of study of philosophers all over the world for thousands of years.

Consider the meaning of the image of the cave:

• Limitation. The cave limits the visibility of a person, his mental activity. The cave as a framework for human knowledge. If its prisoner goes beyond the limits, the foundations inside them do not change and they no longer accept him back. The cave itself seems to protect itself from destruction. If the people inside her saw the sunlight even once, they would give everything to get out of the darkness. But the cave closes this light from them, and there is no faith in lonely prophets.
• Cave as a state. A controversial idea. Plato himself never emphasized such a perception of his images. But perhaps he feared for his school and students. Such ideas, stated publicly, could seriously harm him. Therefore, Plato created the "State", "The Myth of the Cave" by placing it in this work.

Finally

Plato's "Myth of the Cave" is his way in one fragment to express the main ideas of the perception of the world, the state and the place of man in it. Everyone can interpret his ideas in the way his worldview and worldview tells him, from this the value of this nugget of world philosophy will not decrease.

In the center of the "Republic" we find the famous myth of the cave. Symbol of metaphysics, epistemology and dialectics. Plato's "Myth" is more than logos and knowledge, because it claims to explain life. The myth of the cave is a symbol of the whole philosophy of Plato.

People live in a dungeon, in a cave with an entrance directed towards the light, which illuminates the full length of one of the walls of the entrance. The inhabitants of the cave are tied at the feet and turn their gaze deep into the cave. At the entrance to the cave there is a shaft of stones as tall as a man, on the other side of which people move, carrying statues of stone and wood on their shoulders, all kinds of images. Behind these people is a huge fire, and even higher is the sun. So the prisoners of the cave are not able to see anything but the shadows cast by the figurines on the walls of the cave, they hear only the echo of someone's voices. However, they believe that these shadows are the only reality.

If one of the prisoners decides to throw off his chains, he will see the statues moving outside, he will understand that they are real, and not the shadows he had seen before. When the prisoner would see things as such, and then the rays of the sun, then, having understood what the true reality is, he would understand that it is the sun that is the true cause of all visible things.

Myth structure:

1. The stay of the human spirit in the chains of the cave. Our world is a cave, and the environment is a world of shadows. Coming out of the darkness into the light, nothing can be seen. The whole world depends on the divine light, cat. comes from the sun.

2. Liberation of the spirit from cave chains.

3. The movement of a person along the road, the consciousness of wisdom.

4. Achievement of complete freedom of spirit.

Meanings of the Cave Myth

1. Introduction to ontological gradation of being, about the types of reality and their subspecies: the shadows on the walls are the simple appearance of things; statues - things sensually perceived; a stone wall is a demarcation line separating two kinds of being; objects and people outside the cave - this is true being, leading to ideas; Well, the sun is the Idea of ​​the Good.

2. Stages of knowledge: contemplation of shadows - imagination (eikasia), vision of statues - (pistis), i.e. the beliefs from which we pass to the understanding of objects as such and to the image of the sun are phases of dialectics with different stages, the last of which is pure contemplation, intuition.

3. Life under the sign of feeling is a cave life. Living in the spirit is living in the pure light of truth. The path of ascent from the sensual to the intelligible is "liberation from fetters." The highest knowledge of the sun-Good is contemplation of the divine.

4. Political aspect - the possible return to the cave of the one who was once released in order to free and lead to freedom those with whom he spent many years of slavery.

conclusions: with the help of the myth, P. gives an idea of ​​the ontological gradation of being. There are two worlds: the sensible and the real. Sensual - the world of shadows, m / they have a wall. The real can only be comprehended. The theme of correlation between the phenomenological and the metaphysical. Antinomy of two worlds. The first level of life is ascetic (the world of shadows, cave life). The second level of life is mystical (life in the world of pure truth and faith, the transformation of a person).