allegory of the cave

Plato compares the average human existence to that of a few individuals who live in a cave. These people in the cave perceive life through shadows that interact on a wall in front of them. So they do not see the world and the forms that exist in it but only shadows of them. Everything they think to be true is actually a lie. If they were to see the shadow of a hat, and recognize it as a hat, they still do not know what a hat actually is. Plato is saying that in language, names we have for objects are names of things we actually can’t see. We can only grasp these forms in our minds. The prisoners mistake appearance for reality. Plato says this is as close to seeing reality as humans get. When one of the prisoners is freed, they find their way out into the sun. At first they are angry, their eyes are hurt by the sun . But their eyes quickly acclimate.They see the world for what it really is. They see that the sun is the source of seasons, time, and that is a steward to all things that visible.The sun allows them to see the things themselves rather than shadows of things. The sun in this case is allegorical for enlightenment and truth. The way to become enlightened, and to see the “sun”, is to try to come to terms with these forms in our minds. Plato is saying we need to escape from the cave that humanity lives in and truly try to understand the world for what it really is.