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Meranda Romero
Ms. Alapin
English 220.023
11 September 2015
Platos Cave Allegory: Education & Addiction
Education: the knowledge, skill, and understanding that you get from attending a school,
college, or university (Miriam-Webster). Knowledge is not attained solely in a classroom or
from a textbook but also by the ones who surround us starting from a young age. Children
absorb information like sponges, which results in learning values and beliefs of their
guardians. As children develop, not only do they absorb habits from their guardians but also
the peers they will choose to surround themselves with. Unfortunately, addicts may surround
children at a young age or as they get older; the lifestyle of those that surround them may
become their own. Addiction is a dark path that can become brighter if the addict is willing to
observe things in a different way and make a change, this process can be related to a famous
allegory Plato wrote. Plato is a famous philosopher who composed, The Republic, in which
he creates a cave allegory that conveys a struggle for some to attain an education and
enlightenment that comes from a newfound knowledge once education is received.
Platos allegory of the cave can form several connections but Peg OConnor forms a
connection between Platos cave allegory and those who suffer from addiction. Peg
OConnor is a philosophy professor amongst other courses she teaches at Gustavus Adolphus
College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Peg OConnor is also a recovering alcoholic who uses
philosophy to cope. Platos cave allegory begins with prisoners who have been entrapped in a
cave their entire lives. The prisoners have been chained so they are limited to movement,
because of this they are unable to see the fire that flickers behind them casting shadows upon
the caves wall in front of them. Since this display is all the prisoners know, the shadows

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casted in front of them is what they perceive to be real, creating a false sense of perception for
the prisoners. Peg OConnor writes, In various scenarios of addiction, the addicted persons
fixation on a shadow realityone that does not conform to the world outside his or useis
apparent to others They engage in a faulty yet persuasive alcoholic reasoning, willing to
take anything as evidence that they do not have a problem; no amount of reasoning will
persuade them otherwise.
The development of a faulty reality or perception comes from where the individuals
attention is focused. According to Karyn Hall, a clinician focused on Dialectical Behavior
Therapy, When you have an idea in your mind you tend to look for evidence that supports
that idea and not pay attention to evidence that says the idea isnt accurate (Psychology
Today). When Plato describes the prisoners in his allegory their attention is focused on the
shadows displayed in front of them. The prisoners have not been educated on what is behind
them leading them to believe their reality is correct; if the prisoners were to become
knowledgeable as to what is behind them they would not consider the new information given
to them. Plato becomes inquisitive as to what a prisoner would think if he was able to turn his
head, What if the things passing by were pointed out to him and he was forced to say what
each of them was? Dont you think hed be baffled and believe that the things then seen were
truer than the ones now pointed out? (The Republic). Because the prisoners have only
known this view since childhood, it is difficult for them to become knowledgeable about what
the scenery is actually composed of.
Plato sets his scene in a cavelike underground dwelling with a long entrance, as wide as
the cave and open to the light (The Republic). According to geologists a cave is, a natural
opening in the ground extending beyond the zone of light and large enough to permit the entry

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of man (Geology of Caves). For any species living in a cave, vision is a trait that has
become lost considering it is useless in their desired environment. Rachel Feltman, a writer
for The Washington Post, writes, Unlike surface dwelling crabs we snack on, these
crustaceans have lived in dark caves for long enough that theyve shed their eyes (The
Washington Post). As described by Feltman in her article about cave-dwelling species losing
their vision, visual centers of their brain are also deteriorating. By placing prisoners in a cave
for the entirety of their lives, it becomes difficult for the prisoners to gain further knowledge
since they are not exposed to anything else. The same applies to those struggling with
addiction, people whose decent into addiction came later in life have more memories of what
life can be like sober Those whose use started so young that is all they really know will
often experience confusion that Plato describes (Peg OConnor). For some addicts it is
easier to recall what life before addiction was like and for others their perception of reality
before addiction starts to wither away.
In order for an addict to recover they must be willing to break away from their chains and
become knowledgeable about the consequences. Addicts must be able to acknowledge the
problem at hand and be willing to educate themselves about the steps towards recovery. As
Plato wrote in The Republic, the power of learning inheres in everyones souls, Its as if
we couldnt turn our eye from the dark to the bright without turning our whole body around;
so here we must turn the whole soul and its organ of learning away from becoming until it
faces being and can endure contemplating the brightest of what is. The road to recovery
takes determination and dedication but often results in relapse; addicts must be able to
discover ways to cope in order to stay sober. Peg OConnor writes, They will struggle to
stay sober and balanced. So many of their old coping behaviors will not work, and they are

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faced with a seemingly endless task of learning how to rebuild their emotional lives. In the
Cave Allegory Plato explains that if exposed to light the prisoner would momentarily be
agonized and blinded by the true reality, but eventually will be able to see things as they truly
are.
As Peg OConnor who is not only writing about addicts but also is a recovering addict
herself, she wants to not only educate those still chained to their addiction but remind herself
of those hardships in order to maintain sobriety. Plato explains that it is his duty, to force the
best natures to reach the learning we called the highestto climb that ascent and see the
good, and when theyve climbed and sufficiently seen, not to permit them whats permitted
them now. Plato and Peg OConnor both discuss the struggle of individuals to attain
knowledge about a greater perception in order for them to seek enlightenment.

Works Cited
OConnor, Peg. In the Cave: Philosophy and Addiction. The New York Times. NY Times. 8
Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Sep. 2015.
Plato. The Republic Plato
Davies, W.E. Morgan, I.M. Geology of Caves. USGS site. 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Sep 2015.
Hall, Karyn. A Few of the Ways we Distort Reality. Psychology Today. 30 Aug. 2012. Web.
14 Sep. 2015.

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