Allegory of the Cave
Uploaded by slight_raindrop on Aug 23, 2007
In the Allegory of the Cave Plato represents man’s condition as being “chained in a cave,” with only a fire behind him. He perceives the world by watching the shadows on the wall. He sits in darkness with the false light of the fire and does not realize that this existence is wrong or lacking. Much like the matrix, it merely is his existence — he knows no other nor offers any complaint.
In the Matrix when Neo is freed he realizes his life has been a deception and is given a choice to go back to “the cave” (his reality) or “embrace the sun” (truth). Socrates plays the part of the prisoner who returns to the cave to save the others from bondage. Like Socrates, Morpheus cannot show Neo what he most needs to see because truth cannot be told it has to be experienced. When Morpheus asks Neo: “What is real? How do you define real?” he is echoing Socrates in his own search for the truth,
When Socrates denies the oracles prophesy, Socrates makes it his duty to prove he isn’t the wisest man by questioning all who were believed to be the wisest men Athens. "I must go to all those who had any reputation for knowledge [or, who were believed to know anything] to examine its meaning." Socrates questioned well-established men, poets, craftsmen and failed to find any of them wise like he had thought. "Those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those who were thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable." Socrates’ persistent questioning and examining earned him many enemies as his scrutiny exposed the men’s ignorance and left them feeling angry and foolish. This eventually led to his trial where he was charged with corrupting the youth and impiety.
In the Apology, Socrates references himself as a gadfly stinging the lazy horse (the Athenian state), claiming that a god has placed him in the city to do so. Socrates claims, the state is liable to drift into a deep sleep, but through his influence it can be wakened into productive and virtuous action. Socrates believes that his persistent questioning will lead to the realization of the men’s ignorance and serve as a motivation to leave “the cave”. Socrates’ reference to himself as a gadfly is comparable to Morpheus as Neo only accepts his true nature after the series of...