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Gabby Resnick
Huston
PHIL 243
4 February 2016

We live our lives on our idea of truth, but imagine you one day find out that everything
you ever believed in wasnt actually true. Platos Cave allegory theorizes about this idea. Two
men have been held prisoner is a dark cave; their heads and limbs are chained so they are always
facing the back wall of the cave, without any chance of turning around. At the mouth of the cave
behind and above these two men, is a burning fire, which lights the wall facing the men. People
from the outside world will make an appearance around the fire, and their shadows show up on
the wall facing the men. The prisoners, who have known nothing else in life but their chains, the
wall, and the shadows have derived all their experiences from what they have seen on the wall.
When one of the men is set free, he is blinded the moment he is turned around to face the
fire. After gaining sign again, he sees the fire at the mouth of the cave. He is able to see the real
world for the first time. Now that this man now knows what the real world is like, he returns to
tell his friend of the wonders he has seen. The other prisoner, who has never seen the outside
world, ridicules his friend, refusing to be freed from his chains.
This allegory shows us how a person brought up on a fixed world view will find it
difficult to accept another highly contrasting outlook, thus resisting and rejecting the possibility
of change. It is the unknown that we fear when we resist change. We will always find reasons to
justify our own existence, rather than consider looking at things from a different point of view.
In the modern world, the idea of Platos Cave is a backdrop for the movie, The Matrix.
The real world is revealed to be a sunless hell ruled by machines, as compared to the illusion

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made up by mecha to continue their enslavement of the human race. The Matrix forces us to
confront the possibility that the real world may not be better than the illusion that has been
shown to us.
Neither the prisoners nor the people in The Matrix realize that they are prisoners. They
are unaware the reality they have come to know is false. The Matrix adapts the dark cave, where
prisoners are literally chained, to become one of a virtual state, where people are not physically
bound, but mentally. The Matrix, like Platos Cave allegory, readers are engaged in a fictional
world that also connects with our own world, causing us to critically analyze our perceptions of
reality.
In order to understand Platos view on the world, one must first understand the distinction
he made between things and forms. Things are those aspects of reality which we perceive
through our senses. Everything that we experience in the world of sensation is constantly
changing, becoming imperfect, and constantly changing. This is the realm of appearances, which
can be deceptive. Things may change, decay, and ultimately fade away, the Forms are eternal and
unchanging. This is the realm of perfect concepts, and it is explained by reason, not by the
senses. For Plato there were two fundamental realms of reality- the realm of the senses and the
realm of the forms.
He had devised an idea of truth and goodness that was independent of individual
perceptions of truth and goodness. Thus, anchoring these concepts in a transcendent realm- the
world of Forms.
Buddhism on the other hand has some different metaphysical views. The Buddha
preached Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, the suffering
can be got rid of, and the way to get rid of this suffering is by following the eightfold path. The

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eightfold path includes: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood,
right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Beyond this practical philosophy, the
Buddha expressly forbade any further metaphysical speculation. He expressed that the arrow of
suffering was lodged in our hearts, and at this stage we cannot waste time asking who shot the
arrow and where it came from. The immediate need was to get this arrow out, and for this the
eightfold path was the solution.
For followers of the religion metaphysical questions did arise. In time, after the Buddhas
death, different buddhist scholars came up with different concepts of metaphysics which they felt
were in line with Buddhas thinking. This led to two important truths on which all Buddhist
metaphysics is based. These are that the world exists, and that the world is not permanent. The
two main divisions of Buddhism are Hinayana, based on Realistic Metaphysics, and Mahayana,
based on Idealistic Metaphysics.
Hinayana accepts the world as having the same level of reality as the I or our
consciousness. Both the I and the world exist independently and the world is not dependent on
the I for its existence. The outside phenomena exists, but not with absolute reality. They have
only partial reality. Hence the world is not a permanent reality and the goal of spiritual aspirant is
to recognize this reality and thus get rid of the world. Through the eightfold path, a person gains
equanimity and is thus able to distance himself from the pulls and pressures of the earth. They
are able to realize that there is indeed nothing permanent in the world and with realization, they
obtain Nirvana and are freed from further binding with the world.
Mahayana explains that Idealism begins from the I, our individual consciousness. This
I or consciousness is considered the first to exist, independent of the world, and the reality of

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the world is dependent on this I. The world is denied as having a true reality and it is said to
have only a dream like one.
Although the two metaphysical views have different reasoning behind them, there are
also some connections. Platos Allegory of the Cave can be seen as a way for preparing the soul
for the brightest of light; true enlightenment. Buddha lived out this allegory; he encouraged
others to reach true enlightenment. Buddhism and Plato also have similar views when it comes to
the idea of conquering oneself. Plato had said, For the man to conquer himself is the first and
noblest of all victories. While the Buddha stated, It is better to conquer yourself than to win a
thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. Both Plato and Buddhism believe you must first
conquer yourself before you plan to conquer further. Even though the basics of the metaphysical
views differ, the two have similarities when you look closer at their specific ideas.