Plato’s “Allegory of The Cave:” The Conception of Justice
by: Paulina Kasak
Plato’s “Allegory of The Cave,” within The Republic, is a metaphorical story that aims to enlighten the reader about the perception of appearances versus reality. This is connected to his greater discussion on justice, and the form of the good. These are inextricably tied to an individual’s relationship to the sensual and, in contrast, the rational. Plato demonstrates that the form of the good is beyond both experience and the intelligible. Justice resides in the orientation of the individual’s soul toward the wellbeing of society, i.e. the city. I will argue that Plato’s discussion proposes that justice is, in its apparent form, a social construct, but, in its true form, it pre-exists by nature. The concept of justice defines a bond that is outside of soul and city, which is manifested through human reflection, in an effort to bind society as a whole. The individual necessarily requires knowledge of both appearances and reality, one cannot be without the other, in order to understand the form of the good. I will explain Plato’s “Allegory of The Cave,” then provide an analysis of its implications for the conception of justice, and describe the state of transcendence that acts as the key to pursuing justice in human society.
In Chapter VII of The Republic, Plato provides us with his analogy of the cave. It is proposed that outside of the cave corresponds to the intelligible, which is external to the human condition. Contrarily, inside of the cave corresponds to experience, which is the human condition; it is directed by the deception of our senses. By human condition, the assumption is the state of the individual in society, and, more generally, as a living being. The intelligible, outside of the cave, is the source of the shadows, in the cave, that the cave members perceive to be the true forms. Therefore, experience and the intelligible co-exist, but individuals, such as the cave members, can be unaware of the intelligible and only aware of experience. Plato announces, “[the cave members] are in it from childhood with their legs and necks in bonds so that they are fixed, seeing only in front of them, unable because of the bond to turn their heads all the way around” (Plato, VII, 514b). This reflects that the human condition is a primitive state, in which knowledge is discerned solely through the senses. As Plato describes, “such men would hold that the truth is nothing other than the shadows of artificial things” (Plato, VII, 515c). The deception of the senses leads an individual to understand certain concepts, such as justice, as merely social constructs. Experience, alone, denotes that a greater good does not pre-exist by nature because the only truth lies in everything that is visible. This falsifies reality; nothing is known other than what directly appears on the cave walls. As defined by the confines of the cave, the human condition is restrictive. Everything that exists in the cave, i.e. in human life, is only an impression of everything that is outside of the cave, i.e. reality.
To continue, Plato contends, “in the knowable the last thing to be seen, and that with considerable effort, is the idea of the good; but once seen, it must be concluded that this is in fact the cause of all that is right and fair in everything-in the visible it gave birth to light and its sovereign; in the intelligible, itself sovereign, it provided truth and intelligence-and the man who is going to act prudently in private or in public must see it” (Plato, VII, 517c). The form of the good is connected to both experience and reality. However, appearances on their own cannot provide knowledge of the good. This requires an awareness of the intelligible that is outside of the cave. In terms of justice, the individual that is best suited to pursue a righteous life, personally and socially, is the one who recognizes the form of the good. Importantly, the orientation of the soul is crucial; “according to the way it is turned, it becomes useful and helpful or, again, useless and harmful” (Plato, VII, 519a). Justice exists within the proper conditioning of the individual’s soul. The concept of the good is discovered external to being itself, and is the source of justice. Depending on the orientation of his or her soul, an individual can either benefit, harm, or remain insignificant to, the wellbeing of the city. Orientation can be understood as the way in which the soul is educated. In this respect, the cave represents the lowest level of education, whereas outside of the cave indicates higher education. Furthermore, Plato explains, “it produces such men in the city not in order to let them turn whichever way each wants, but in order that it may use them in binding the city together” (Plato, VII, 520a). A cave member breaking his chains and finding his way out of the cave is not in purpose to provide himself with freedom, but rather to use his higher knowledge as a tool for the common good.
The “Allegory of The Cave” alludes to the importance of education. Once an individual achieves a higher understanding of life he or she becomes essential to flourishing society. Plato reserves the highest level of educating the soul for philosophers because he advocates for a philosopher king. Most significant, the analogy demonstrates that the form of the good is not justice itself; it is what allows justice to have value in human society. The form of the good is necessarily beyond human construct. It exists superior to the soul and the city because it defines all of experience and reality.
“As for knowledge and truth, just as in the other region it is right to hold light and sight sunlike, but to believe them to be sun is not right; so too, here, to hold these two to be like the good is right, but to believe that either of them is the good is not right. The condition which characterizes the good must receive still greater honour” (Plato, VI, 509a).
As such, the “Allegory of The Cave” compliments Plato’s conception of justice. His discussion of appearances and reality provides the central implication that justice is exercised as a human construct, but derives, as a natural element, from the form of the good. By natural, the suggestion is that the true form of justice is even greater than human virtue. It exists in the city in so far as it is known as a concept to be understood, rather than created, by humanity. This being said, the condition of experience allows only for an individual to develop a sense of justice, but inhibits knowledge of its true nature. Whereas, the condition of the intelligible leads an individual to understand justice in itself, rather than as a mere reflection of its form. In other words, experience without the intelligible is an illusion of justice, but experience with knowledge of reality is a closer state of awareness to the good. This is significant in establishing justice within human society because the form of the good is an illumination of both the condition of experience and the intelligible. Socrates asserts, “not only being known is present in the things known as a consequence of the good, but also existence and being are in them besides as a result of it, although the good isn’t being but is still beyond being, exceeding it in dignity and power” (Plato, VI, 509b-c). In this sense, justice exists as an external entity. It is best mirrored in society with the realization that it is an extension of the form of the good, not the good itself. Once an individual internalizes justice, with recognition of the form of the good, he or she will aid in bonding the city. Justice reflects a bond that is superior to the human condition. As Socrates notes, “I know nothing so long as I do not know what the just is, I shall hardly know whether it is a virtue or not and whether the one who has it is unhappy or happy” (Plato, I, 354c). Plato places great importance on justice. Socrates explains that without knowledge of justice, which is understood through the intelligible, there does not exist any accurate distinction between virtue and vice, or happiness and unhappiness. In order for justice to be mapped onto the city, individuals must perceive the just as it is, not as it appears.
This being said, knowledge reflects a state of transcendence, and this develops justice within human society. Plato’s philosophy directs attention to the orientation of the soul; how valuable the correct orientation is for both the wellbeing of the individual and, most importantly, the city. As established, the form of the good exists outside of the human soul and the city. Thus, justice cannot be achieved in society if it is perceived as a social construct. There must be a recognition by individuals that justice is a bond by nature, which can be mirrored in the city through an ordering of the soul. In its intelligible form, justice does not derive from social conventions nor from personal beliefs; it is rooted in the virtue of the individual’s part in society.
As before-mentioned, knowledge of the intelligible, and further the form of the good, seems to imply a state of freedom for the individual. This is not the case. As Socrates accounts, “too much freedom seems to change into nothing but too much slavery, both for private man and city” (Plato, VIII, 564a). In the modern perspective, justice is commonly understood as a component, or a benefit, belonging to the democratic society. However, for Plato, justice is not necessarily connected to the freedom that is often associated with democracy. The primary focus is educating the individual’s soul in order for justice to exist in the city. As such, the condition of justice is not a product of a social or political state; it is a product of higher knowledge. Concepts of higher knowledge are not determined by humanity; they are to be discovered, and understood. Consequently, such as justice, they already exist outside of the human state.
To conclude, the distinction between appearances and reality discussed within the “Allegory of the Cave” is somewhat of a blueprint for Plato’s conception of justice. Justice exists in the city insofar as the individual’s soul is educated in a manner that directs understanding of the intelligible, in the face of experience. However, discerning these two realms of cognition is not enough for justice to have value in human society. The individual must recognize the form of the good. The good is not justice itself, but it is the source of justice as it exists by nature, precedent over human soul and city. This form is not internal; it is indefinitely transcendent of the human condition. This is because the internalization of the true form of justice is what leads to justice in human life.
The word true, and the concept of truth, can encompass an infinite amount of meanings. Regardless, it is important to recognize that Plato is not attempting to state a specific truth about the nature of justice, or even the human condition. He is merely providing the reader with a few thoughts. For instance, what if reality is nothing as we perceive it to be? Are we limited by our own being? Is the justice we know in fact not justice at all? It is in this manner that Plato fulfills the role of a philosopher.
Work Cited
Plato. The Republic of Plato, Basic Books, 2016.
