SWA #7

Title: The Allegory of the Cave

Thesis: In his piece “The Allegory of the Cave” Plato uses dialog between the teacher Socrates and the student Glaucon. In addition he uses a series of rhetorical devices such as allegory and rhetorical questions to illustrate the difficulties man faces when transitioning from an uneducated state to a place filled with intellect and knowledge. Plato’s argument is effective due to the question and answer format in which it is written, however the kairos of his piece weakens its effectiveness.

I)     Plato uses a dialog format and point of view to address the issues of one’s place in society.

A)   Socrates’ point of view

1)    Socrates takes the stance of a teacher and engages Glaucon, the student, not in an argument, but in an intellectual conversation

2)    He begins by creating the comparison between life and a cave

3)    He asks Glaucon questions so that he, along with whom ever might be reading the text, can develop his own ideas on the comparison given at the beginning of the conversation

B)   Glaucon’s point of view

1)    Glaucon is viewed as the student who is being taught by Socrates

2)    He is asked a multitude of questions which cause him to consider whether he believes Socrates’ comparison is valid

3)    He responds with simple phrases in which he either agrees or disagrees with the points that Socrates is making, most of the time agreeing.

C)   Plato’s point of view

1)    Although he is the author of the piece, he is neither the speaker or the audience

2)    He himself was a student of Socrates, therefor we can infer the Glaucon might actually be a manifestation of his younger self

II)   Plato uses rhetorical devices in order to persuade his audience

A)   Rhetorical Questions  

1)    “And if he is compelled...being shown to him?”

2)    “Imagine once more…eyes full of darkness?”

3)    “And will our pupils…in the heavenly light?”

B)   Allegory

1)    Plato compares the darkness experienced inside of the cave to the darkness in the mind of an uneducated individual

2)    He compares the light from outside the cave as intellect and knowledge

3)    The difficulties experienced when transitioning from darkness to light are a representation of the difficulties adjusting to knowledge or ignorance

C)   Hypothetical situations

1)    If a man who is used to the darkness is introduced to light, he will have difficulty adjusting to the new sights

2)    Similarly, if a man who is used to the light of intellect is thrown into darkness, he will not be able to function as well as those who have lived in darkness for an extended amount of time

III) The establishment of ethos and kairos

A)   Ethos

1)    By the time that the piece “The Allegory of a Cave” was written, Plato had already written a multitude of books.

B)   Kairos

1)    The Kairos of the piece is due to when it was written. Because this piece was constructed and published, sometime between 427BC and 347BC, it may not apply to today’s audiences

2)    Although it was written so long ago, the message may still be true today