{"id":30,"date":"2021-11-15T21:46:39","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T21:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/?post_type=chapter&p=30"},"modified":"2024-08-17T16:19:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T16:19:21","slug":"cave","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/chapter\/cave\/","title":{"rendered":"Cave"},"content":{"raw":"

The Fourth Chapter<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n

in which you once again ask yourself,<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n

Where Am I?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/h3>\r\n

Preparation<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

Required Reading: Evans, \"Caves All the Way Down<\/a>\" (Aeon<\/em>)<\/p>\r\n

Recommended Reading: Miller, \"The Value of Uncertainty<\/a>\" (Aeon<\/em>)<\/p>\r\n

Writing:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n \t
  1. Evans describes the \"mystical theory\" of psychadelics. What is the mystical theory? Answer with paraphrase, not quotation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  2. An argument is a\u00a0thesis <\/i>supported by one or more reasons. <\/i>What is Evans' thesis? What reason(s) does he provide in support of his thesis? Paraphrase or quote briefly.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  3. What is your immediate reaction to Evans' argument? Agreement, disagreement, or something else?<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Respond to the following question by writing at least one paragraph: \"Are we really leaving Plato\u2019s cave when we trip, or just emerging into another, bigger cave?\"<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\r\n

    Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

    Look behind you: Normal World is long gone, my friend. You started with the question\u00a0what should I do?,\u00a0<\/i>which is a Big Question but also a really Normal question. You ended up with\u00a0why should I care?<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>which is a Bigger Question: an earthquake question. At first, philosophy was about coming up with better answers to questions that mattered; it was about becoming a happier person by becoming a good person, figuring out right and wrong. Now it turns out that philosophy is actually about becoming a happier person, by figuring out that there\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0no right and wrong, no good or bad. Philosophy just wants the truth. In Normal World, that means the truth about \u201cwhat you should do.\u201d But you go deeper, and it turns out Normal World itself is a lie, and the truth is this: being happy means getting what you want. Philosophy shows you this truth, and then philosophy trains your mind so you become smart and strong enough to act on it: smart and strong enough to\u00a0get<\/i>\u00a0what you want, without getting caught, and without getting caught up in guilt and shame. You\u2019re free. You can do whatever you want, if you can figure out how to get away with it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    You think this is a joke, but it\u2019s not. This is a real live possibility. This may actually be the truth. And philosophers accept the truth, wherever it leads, no matter what other people think. A lot of people have said that philosophy is too dangerous, that people shouldn\u2019t study it. If you think those people were afraid of nothing, that they were being melodramatic, you aren\u2019t paying attention. Remember how Socrates said \u201cthe unexamined life is not worth living\u201d? That sounds so nice, doesn\u2019t it. Like something inspiring you post on Instagram.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Do you know what happened to Socrates? They executed him<\/a>. (That's him right there, in the picture, about to drink the hemlock. Still talking philosophy, right up to the very end.) And it was not for telling jokes. It was not for being too \u201cinspiring.\u201d \"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    At this point you\u2019ve got two options. You can stay in Normal World, believe in normal ethics, feel happy because other people think you\u2019re good in all the normal ways. You can use philosophy to become a better person, to think more clearly about right and wrong, to improve other people\u2019s muddled thinking, to tackle the Big Questions. You can do philosophy, but you can also stay where you are. You\u2019ll be making Normal World better. Fixing things up. Decorating the walls.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Or you can walk away. You can keep going down the rabbit hole, following the Bigger Questions, until you have eliminated every inhibition, every fear, every concern for what people think of you, every feeling of guilt and shame. You can keep going until you have mastered the arts of manipulation and deceit (you think philosophers don\u2019t know how to manipulate and deceive people?), the arts of talking and arguing (no one is better at this than a philosopher), the arts of strategy and tactics (philosophers above all others are able to perceive what is logically required to reach a goal). You can keep going until you have learned from philosophy how to be happy, by learning from philosophy how to admit what you really want and make it yours. No limits. Anything and everything you can imagine, any and every impulse.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Do you think you\u2019ll somehow become \u201cless human\u201d if you let it all go? No! To deny our own impulses is to deny the very think that\u00a0makes<\/i>\u00a0us human!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    You take the first option, the story ends. You take the second option, the story keeps going, and you see how deep the rabbit hole really goes. I\u2019m trying to free your mind here. But I can only show you the door; you\u2019re the one who has to walk through it.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    What\u2019s holding you back?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    * * *\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Now: listen. Whenever someone says \u201cyou have two options,\u201d you should immediately ask if there\u2019s maybe a third option. Philosophers are always doing that. When they hear \u201cyou either go this way or that way,\u201d they get suspicious, because there\u2019s usually another way. You just have to wander around until you find it. And that\u2019s what philosophers like to do, right? Wander around the city, get off the beaten path, go down the rabbit trails till they discover something interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Here\u2019s something interesting. Look again at the story of the ring. The shepherd says that happiness is getting what you want, and morality is just a made-up idea that gets in the way of us getting what we want. So he thinks \u201cwhat you want\u201d is natural. Whereas \u201cwhat you should do\u201d is unnatural. Morality is artificial and fake; but desires are authentic and real.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Is that true?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The philosopher, wandering around the story, taking her time, slowing down her thinking, asking some questions, has suddenly uncovered the shepherd\u2019s\u00a0hidden assumption<\/b>. She shepherd is assuming he was\u00a0born<\/i>\u00a0with his desires and impulses. Maybe at some point he asked himself a Big Question: \u201cwhere do my desires come from?\u201d And he answered \u201cthey don\u2019t \u2018come from\u2019 anywhere, they\u2019re just\u00a0me<\/i>.\u201d And then he forgot that he\u2019d answered it, and then it turned into \u201ccommon sense,\u201d and when he found the ring that would fulfill all his desires, it never occurred to him to ask whether the desires he was fulfilling were actually\u00a0his<\/i>\u00a0desires.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    So he thinks happiness is getting what he wants. What if what he wants isn\u2019t what\u00a0he<\/i>\u00a0wants, at all? He thinks morality is made up by people; what if his desires are made up, too? Would he really be \u201chappy\u201d if he uses the ring to get what\u00a0other people<\/i>\u00a0made him want?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Now, you\u2019re going to read another section from Plato\u2019s\u00a0Republic<\/i>. It\u2019s called \u201cThe Allegory of the Cave.\u201d It\u2019s probably the most famous answer to the question \u201cWhere Am I?\u201d that has ever been given. And it suggests that shepherd never actually escaped his Normal World, that he never really knew where he was, and that if you take option two \u2014 if you follow the shepherd and use philosophy to get what you want \u2014 then you\u2019ll never escape your Normal World, either. You\u2019ll\u00a0think<\/i>\u00a0you\u2019ve escaped, and that illusion will only make the walls of your prison higher; it\u2019ll only make your chains tighter. The Allegory of the Cave tells us there\u2019s a third option, another way that really does lead out toward truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And remember, all philosophy offers is truth. Nothing more.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    Plato, \u201cThe Allegory of the Cave\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\r\n

    From The Republic, Book VII<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Let me show in a parable to what extent our nature is enlightened or unenlightened. Envision human figures living in an underground cave with a long entrance across the whole width of the cave. Here they have been from their childhood and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning their heads around. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance. They see only their own shadows, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave. For how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads? Between the fire and the prisoners, there is a raised road and a low wall built along the road like the screen which puppet players have in front of them over which they show the puppets. You see men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of articles, which they hold projected above the wall: statutes of men and animals made of wood and stone and various materials. Of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows. And if they were able to converse with one another, would they not suppose that they were naming what was actually before them? And suppose further that there was an echo which came from the wall. Would they not be sure to think when one of the passers-by spoke, that the voice came from the passing shadows? To them, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And now look again and see what will naturally follow if one of the prisoners is released. At first when he is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his head round and look towards the light. All this would hurt him and he would be much too dazzled to see distinctly those things whose shadows he had seen before. And then conceive someone saying to him that what he saw before was an illusion. But that now when he is approaching nearer to reality, his eyes turn toward more real existence, he has a clearer vision. What will be his reply? And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them. Will he not be perplexed? Will he not think that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And suppose once more that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent and held fast until he is forced into the presence of the Sun itself. When he approaches the light his eyes would be dazzled. He would not be able to see anything at all of what are now called \u2018realities\u2019. He would require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. At first he would see the shadows best, next the reflections of objects in the water and then the objects themselves. Then he will gaze upon the stars and the spangled heavens and the light of the Moon. He will see the sky and the stars by night.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Last of all, he will be able to see the Sun and not mere reflections of it in the water but he will see the Sun in its own proper place and not in another. And he will contemplate the Sun as it is. Will he then not proceed to argue that it is the Sun who gives the season and the years and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world and in a certain way the cause of all things which his fellows had been accustomed to behold?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Truly he would first see the Sun and then reason about it. And when he remembered his old habitation and what was the wisdom of the cave and his fellow prisoners. Do you not suppose that he would bless himself for the change, pity them? And if they were in the habit of conferring honours among themselves on those who were quickest at observing the passing shadows and to remark which of them went before and which of them after and which were together and who were therefore best able to draw conclusions as to the future. Do you think he would care for such honours and glories or envy the possessors of them?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Imagine once more, such a one coming out of the Sun to be replaced in his old situation. Would he not be certain to have his eyes full of darkness? And if there were a contest of measuring the shadows and he had to compete with the prisoners who had never moved out of the den while his sight was still weak and before his eyes had become steady, wouldn\u2019t they all laugh at him and say he had spoiled his eyesight by going up there and that it was better not to even think of ascending? And if anyone tried to release another and lead him up to the light, would they not put him to death?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    Discussion<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

    It\u2019s like this. In the story of the ring, philosophy is about getting what you want, by getting rid of what stands in your way, which is just everything they ever told you about right and wrong. In the story of the cave, philosophy is not about learning how to get what you want: it is about learning how to\u00a0want what\u2019s actually good for you<\/i>. In the story of the ring, you keep your old desires, and you get rid of the old beliefs that tell you that desiring those things is bad. In the story of the cave, you get rid of the old beliefs, but you\u00a0also<\/i>\u00a0get rid of your old desires.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The cave story tells you the same thing as the ring story about Normal World. Both stories tell you that Normal World, with all its traditional beliefs about \u201cwhat you should do,\u201d is a lot of nonsense. It\u2019s an illusion. But the ring story stops there. In the ring story, the truth philosophy offers you is just that there is no truth. The shepherd sees that normal morality is a sham, because it\u2019s all based on consequences. No one actually cares about being good, they just care about getting what they want, since that\u2019s what a consequence is: something you\u00a0want<\/i>, or want to avoid, a desire that gets used as a carrot or a stick to keep you line.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The cave story says that the shepherd is right about this: normal morality\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0a sham. But when the shepherd concludes that since normal morality is a sham, then there\u2019s\u00a0no\u00a0<\/i>morality at all, that it\u2019s all about getting \u201cbeyond good and evil\u201d \u2014 well,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>the cave story says the shepherd is wrong about that. Normal morality is a sham; but\u00a0morality<\/i>\u00a0is not. Philosophy shakes up normal morality. But it\u2019s not just trying to destroy things. It\u2019s not just an earthquake. It\u2019s also trying to discover something in the rubble. It\u2019s trying to find\u00a0real<\/i>\u00a0morality. It\u2019s trying to find what\u2019s really worth wanting: what\u2019s worth wanting\u00a0regardless of consequences.<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    That\u2019s important. The ring shows the shepherd that no one would be good if it weren\u2019t for consequences, and that shows him that theres\u2019 no such thing as \u201cbeing good\u201d at all. So he learns to avoid the consequences, to not feel guilty when other people want him to, to be immune to social pressure. The prisoner in the cave, the one who gets free \u2014 philosophy shows him something else. Philosophy shows him that it\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0possible to be good without thinking about the consequences. But that\u2019s exactly it:\u00a0he too learns to act without fear of consequences.\u00a0<\/i>He too learns to not feel the pressure of other people\u2019s opinions. He too learns to be free of tradition and convention. He\u2019s like the shepherd in that way. So what\u2019s the difference? That\u2019s what you have to grasp.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Look at the story again. All the elements are important. Start with the prisoners: they are like the shepherds, going about their day, doing their thing. They\u2019ve got their Normal opinions about what\u2019s real, what\u2019s true, what\u2019s good and bad. They think it\u2019s all real, and they\u2019re wrapped up in it all: they think it matters. But it\u2019s all an illusion, a fantasy: it\u2019s a\u00a0shadow<\/i>\u00a0of what\u2019s real. They\u2019re in a prison so total they don\u2019t even know they\u2019re in prison. That\u2019s what keeps them there, actually: not knowing where they are. Then, one of them gets free (how? it\u2019s not clear, is it? does someone help?). And he\u00a0turns around<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 all of a sudden he can turn his head, look at where he is from a different angle. He\u2019s been seeing things from the same angle for so long that the very possibility of seeing things differently never occurred to him.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And what\u2019s the first thing the prisoner sees when he turns his head? He sees the men behind the curtain, the shadowcasters: the puppetmasters. All those Normal ideas about what\u2019s real, what\u2019s true, what\u2019s good and bad: they don\u2019t come from nowhere. They\u2019re made up. Other people made up the Normal opinions, and they\u2019ve been beaming them into his brain since he was a baby. And this is an earthquake in his mind. He sees he\u2019s been had, that he\u2019s been a prisoner of other people\u2019s thoughts, a slave to the images they\u2019ve been projecting into him. He\u2019s been a slave to\u00a0them.\u00a0<\/i>They rule the cave; they\u2019re the masters here, the invisible prison guards.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Now, this is where the ring story stops. In that story, the shepherd becomes the king: the slave becomes the master. In the cave story, that would be like the prisoner becoming the puppetmaster. And that\u2019s a temptation the prisoner must face. He turns around and sees that he\u2019s been on the bottom of the hierarchy without knowing it. Now that he knows it, wouldn\u2019t he burn with envy? Wouldn\u2019t he want to be on top? He\u2019s been manipulated all his life; wouldn\u2019t he now want to become the manipulator? Wouldn\u2019t he feel like it was his turn?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And so he\u2019s got to be dragged past the temptation to the join the puppetmasters, dragged further up the road, until he gets\u00a0all the way out<\/i>\u00a0of the cave. Because that\u2019s the thing. Maybe you\u2019d rather be the puppetmaster than the prisoner; maybe you\u2019d rather be the master than the slave. But the cave story shows us that\u00a0both of them are still in the cave<\/i>. What does that tell you about the puppetmasters? Well, the cave is Normal World, which is the world of illusions that people confuse with reality. If the puppetmasters live in the cave, that means they\u2019re just as trapped as the prisoners. They think they\u2019re better than the prisoners, because they know it\u2019s all a sham. But they\u2019re not better. In fact, in one way they\u2019re in\u00a0worse<\/i>\u00a0shape.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Because a prisoner who gets free will discover what it\u2019s like to want freedom. When he first sees the puppetmasters, he might confuse \u201chappiness\u201d with what they have. But he also knows now that he\u2019s been wrong, fundamentally wrong about \u201chappiness\u201d, for his whole life. So he\u2019ll be open to the idea that he could be wrong about this, too: that maybe what the puppetmasters have isn\u2019t real happiness, that there\u2019s some better kind of happiness that he doesn\u2019t want to miss out on. But a puppetmaster, who always gets what he desires (by manipulating\u00a0other<\/i>\u00a0people\u2019s desires), will have harder time imagining why anything could be better than the power to get what he wants.<\/i>\u00a0He\u2019ll have a harder time accepting the idea that what he wants is also an illusion, a product of the cave he lives in.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    So the prisoner can be led out \u2014 although the story says he has to be dragged. That he doesn\u2019t really want to go. And why would it? Because it\u2019s hard: philosophy, getting free of your cave, is hard. Unimaginably hard. Maybe it\u2019s even impossible: that\u2019s also a live possibility. Remember, this is just a story. And philosophy just wants truth, even if the truth is that there\u2019s no getting out of the cave. But anyway yes, assuming you\u00a0can<\/i>\u00a0get out, it\u2019s hard. It takes a long time, maybe a lifetime. It\u2019s not magic. So you don\u2019t want to do it. The prisoner wants to stay where it\u2019s easy. I mean \u2014 wouldn\u2019t you rather sit in a dark cozy movie theater, being entertained 24\/7, than set out for the unknown, on a journey that requires you to learn very different methods of thinking, to read a lot of difficult books, to adopt an odd \u201cposture of the mind\u201d that can be pretty uncomfortable sometimes? And because you don\u2019t want to do it, you have to be dragged.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Who has to drag you? A teacher, of course. Not necessarily your philosophy teacher. Your philosophy teacher might be stuck back in the cave with all the other prisoners. Or she might be one of the puppeteers. But some kind of teacher is necessary. You can\u2019t do it alone, and it\u2019s not because the methods are hard and the books are difficult and the mental attitude is awkward. It\u2019s because you don\u2019t\u00a0want<\/i>\u00a0to do it alone. So you need a teacher to show you what it\u2019s like to\u00a0want<\/i>\u00a0to do this. That\u2019s what a real teacher does. A real teacher doesn\u2019t stuff knowledge into your head. A real teacher shows you what it\u2019s like to\u00a0want<\/i>\u00a0different things, or to want things differently. What it\u2019s like to want knowledge \u201cfor its own sake\u201d \u2014 not for the sake of getting the carrot or avoiding the stick.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    So the prisoner gets dragged out of the cave, and what\u2019s outside? Reality.\u00a0Real<\/i>\u00a0morality: what\u2019s really good, what\u2019s really right. Not Normal Morality, that\u2019s for sure. The things they call good inside the cave might turn out to be totally bad, and the things they call bad inside the cave might turn out to be totally good. But outside the cave, there\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0good and bad, true and false, beautiful and ugly. Outside the cave, there\u2019s more than the happiness of \u201cgetting what you want.\u201d There\u2019s the happiness of being able to\u00a0want,\u00a0<\/i>to truly enjoy, what\u2019s truly good. And that\u2019s the happiness the prisoner discovers. Just like the shepherd, he gets everything he wants \u2014 but only after he\u2019s learn to want different things. Different both from what the prisoners want (to be entertained, to be socially approved, to win points in social games), and from what the puppeteers want (which is nothing but\u00a0power<\/i>). And what is it he has learned to want?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    That is harder to describe. That is what you are looking for, when you do philosophy. The story does not tell you what \u201cthe truth\u201d is. It does not give you true morality. It says: there is truth, there is morality, and it is worth looking for. But to find it, you will indeed have to leave Normal World, leave your conventional opinions. You\u2019ll have to be like the shepherd, but you\u2019ll have to go further than the shepherd. You will have to question everything, and some people\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>will not like that. Because \u2014 well, what happens when the freed prisoner returns to the cave, and tries to tell all the others what he has found? What happens when he tries to free them?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Right: they kill him. Like they killed Socrates.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Because real philosophy is every bit as dangerous as Normal People say it is. It\u2019s just as dangerous as the fake philosophy that the shepherd found. It\u2019s not a magic ring that makes you king by making you a murderer. But it\u2019s a powerful magic all it\u2019s own. If you ask a big enough question, it can tear down Normal World. And normal people don\u2019t like that. It feels like you\u2019re murdering what they love.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    So that\u2019s what you\u2019re dealing with here, when you talk about \u201cdoing philosophy.\u201d You\u2019re talking about whether you can ever get out of your cave and really, finally\u00a0live<\/i>, and how you get out, if indeed you can.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Let\u2019s assume it\u2019s possible, and let\u2019s assume you want to. Let\u2019s assume you want to keep asking the big and bigger questions that uncover the hidden assumptions and pierce the illusions that hold you back. How do you do it?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    One thing about the cave story: it says all of us are deluded by illusions, by shadows on the wall. But different people might see different shadows. The illusions that hold one person back might be different from the illusions that hold another person back. In Part Three, you\u2019re going to think about two different kinds of illusion. Both of them are illusions about\u00a0ourselves<\/i>, about who we really are. They are the shadows that hide the truth about ourselves, the truth we leave the cave to find. We\u2019ll call the first kind \u201cdaydreams.\u201d These are illusions that we like, pleasing illusions of\u00a0superiority<\/i>. We\u2019ll call the second kind \u201cnightmares.\u201d These are illusions that we don\u2019t like, distressing illusions of\u00a0inferiority<\/i>. The daydreams make us believe that we are better than we actually are; they nightmares make us believe that we are worse than we actually are.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    For some of us, the cave is mostly a daydream; for others, the cave is mostly a nightmare. But the point is this: daydreams and nightmares are both illusions. They\u2019re both lies. And philosophy wants only truth: nothing more, nothing less.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In the next three chapters, you are going to explore the relationship between the daydreams and the nightmares, and between the prisoners and the puppetmasters. You are going to start by thinking about a question that takes us you into a special branch of philosophy, which is called\u00a0political<\/i>\u00a0philosophy. Political philosophy focuses on the third kind of philosophical question, the one we focus on in this class: the ethical question\u00a0what should I do?\u00a0<\/i>Except that when you are doing political philosophy, you are asking not so much about what\u00a0you<\/i>\u00a0should do, as you are asking about what\u00a0we<\/i>\u00a0should do. Instead of \u201cwhat should I do with my life?\u201d or \u201chow should I live?\u201d, you\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>are asking\u00a0how should we live together<\/i>?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

    Reflection<\/h3>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. \r\n

      Visualize the cave in as much detail as you can, paying careful attention to Socrates\u2019 description. In your journal, draw a picture or map of the cave.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t

    2. \r\n

      The Cave is a situation <\/i>with certain features<\/i>. For example; there are shadows, chains, fire, etc. Based on your reading and your drawing, make a list of these features.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t

    3. \r\n

      The Cave is an allegory: each feature of the situation <\/i>represents some feature of what Plato sees as our human situation<\/i>. Use your list: suggest what each feature might represent about the human situation. Write at least 250 words explaining how Plato seems to see the human situation.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","rendered":"

      The Fourth Chapter<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      in which you once again ask yourself,<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Where Am I?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/h3>\n

      Preparation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

      Required Reading: Evans, “Caves All the Way Down<\/a>” (Aeon<\/em>)<\/p>\n

      Recommended Reading: Miller, “The Value of Uncertainty<\/a>” (Aeon<\/em>)<\/p>\n

      Writing:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Evans describes the “mystical theory” of psychadelics. What is the mystical theory? Answer with paraphrase, not quotation.<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. An argument is a\u00a0thesis <\/i>supported by one or more reasons. <\/i>What is Evans’ thesis? What reason(s) does he provide in support of his thesis? Paraphrase or quote briefly.<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. What is your immediate reaction to Evans’ argument? Agreement, disagreement, or something else?<\/span><\/li>\n
      4. Respond to the following question by writing at least one paragraph: “Are we really leaving Plato\u2019s cave when we trip, or just emerging into another, bigger cave?”<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n

        Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Look behind you: Normal World is long gone, my friend. You started with the question\u00a0what should I do?,\u00a0<\/i>which is a Big Question but also a really Normal question. You ended up with\u00a0why should I care?<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>which is a Bigger Question: an earthquake question. At first, philosophy was about coming up with better answers to questions that mattered; it was about becoming a happier person by becoming a good person, figuring out right and wrong. Now it turns out that philosophy is actually about becoming a happier person, by figuring out that there\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0no right and wrong, no good or bad. Philosophy just wants the truth. In Normal World, that means the truth about \u201cwhat you should do.\u201d But you go deeper, and it turns out Normal World itself is a lie, and the truth is this: being happy means getting what you want. Philosophy shows you this truth, and then philosophy trains your mind so you become smart and strong enough to act on it: smart and strong enough to\u00a0get<\/i>\u00a0what you want, without getting caught, and without getting caught up in guilt and shame. You\u2019re free. You can do whatever you want, if you can figure out how to get away with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

        You think this is a joke, but it\u2019s not. This is a real live possibility. This may actually be the truth. And philosophers accept the truth, wherever it leads, no matter what other people think. A lot of people have said that philosophy is too dangerous, that people shouldn\u2019t study it. If you think those people were afraid of nothing, that they were being melodramatic, you aren\u2019t paying attention. Remember how Socrates said \u201cthe unexamined life is not worth living\u201d? That sounds so nice, doesn\u2019t it. Like something inspiring you post on Instagram.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Do you know what happened to Socrates? They executed him<\/a>. (That’s him right there, in the picture, about to drink the hemlock. Still talking philosophy, right up to the very end.) And it was not for telling jokes. It was not for being too \u201cinspiring.\u201d \"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        At this point you\u2019ve got two options. You can stay in Normal World, believe in normal ethics, feel happy because other people think you\u2019re good in all the normal ways. You can use philosophy to become a better person, to think more clearly about right and wrong, to improve other people\u2019s muddled thinking, to tackle the Big Questions. You can do philosophy, but you can also stay where you are. You\u2019ll be making Normal World better. Fixing things up. Decorating the walls.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Or you can walk away. You can keep going down the rabbit hole, following the Bigger Questions, until you have eliminated every inhibition, every fear, every concern for what people think of you, every feeling of guilt and shame. You can keep going until you have mastered the arts of manipulation and deceit (you think philosophers don\u2019t know how to manipulate and deceive people?), the arts of talking and arguing (no one is better at this than a philosopher), the arts of strategy and tactics (philosophers above all others are able to perceive what is logically required to reach a goal). You can keep going until you have learned from philosophy how to be happy, by learning from philosophy how to admit what you really want and make it yours. No limits. Anything and everything you can imagine, any and every impulse.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Do you think you\u2019ll somehow become \u201cless human\u201d if you let it all go? No! To deny our own impulses is to deny the very think that\u00a0makes<\/i>\u00a0us human!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        You take the first option, the story ends. You take the second option, the story keeps going, and you see how deep the rabbit hole really goes. I\u2019m trying to free your mind here. But I can only show you the door; you\u2019re the one who has to walk through it.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        What\u2019s holding you back?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        * * *\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Now: listen. Whenever someone says \u201cyou have two options,\u201d you should immediately ask if there\u2019s maybe a third option. Philosophers are always doing that. When they hear \u201cyou either go this way or that way,\u201d they get suspicious, because there\u2019s usually another way. You just have to wander around until you find it. And that\u2019s what philosophers like to do, right? Wander around the city, get off the beaten path, go down the rabbit trails till they discover something interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Here\u2019s something interesting. Look again at the story of the ring. The shepherd says that happiness is getting what you want, and morality is just a made-up idea that gets in the way of us getting what we want. So he thinks \u201cwhat you want\u201d is natural. Whereas \u201cwhat you should do\u201d is unnatural. Morality is artificial and fake; but desires are authentic and real.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Is that true?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        The philosopher, wandering around the story, taking her time, slowing down her thinking, asking some questions, has suddenly uncovered the shepherd\u2019s\u00a0hidden assumption<\/b>. She shepherd is assuming he was\u00a0born<\/i>\u00a0with his desires and impulses. Maybe at some point he asked himself a Big Question: \u201cwhere do my desires come from?\u201d And he answered \u201cthey don\u2019t \u2018come from\u2019 anywhere, they\u2019re just\u00a0me<\/i>.\u201d And then he forgot that he\u2019d answered it, and then it turned into \u201ccommon sense,\u201d and when he found the ring that would fulfill all his desires, it never occurred to him to ask whether the desires he was fulfilling were actually\u00a0his<\/i>\u00a0desires.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        So he thinks happiness is getting what he wants. What if what he wants isn\u2019t what\u00a0he<\/i>\u00a0wants, at all? He thinks morality is made up by people; what if his desires are made up, too? Would he really be \u201chappy\u201d if he uses the ring to get what\u00a0other people<\/i>\u00a0made him want?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Now, you\u2019re going to read another section from Plato\u2019s\u00a0Republic<\/i>. It\u2019s called \u201cThe Allegory of the Cave.\u201d It\u2019s probably the most famous answer to the question \u201cWhere Am I?\u201d that has ever been given. And it suggests that shepherd never actually escaped his Normal World, that he never really knew where he was, and that if you take option two \u2014 if you follow the shepherd and use philosophy to get what you want \u2014 then you\u2019ll never escape your Normal World, either. You\u2019ll\u00a0think<\/i>\u00a0you\u2019ve escaped, and that illusion will only make the walls of your prison higher; it\u2019ll only make your chains tighter. The Allegory of the Cave tells us there\u2019s a third option, another way that really does lead out toward truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        And remember, all philosophy offers is truth. Nothing more.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        \n

        Plato, \u201cThe Allegory of the Cave\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

        From The Republic, Book VII<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        Let me show in a parable to what extent our nature is enlightened or unenlightened. Envision human figures living in an underground cave with a long entrance across the whole width of the cave. Here they have been from their childhood and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning their heads around. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance. They see only their own shadows, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave. For how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads? Between the fire and the prisoners, there is a raised road and a low wall built along the road like the screen which puppet players have in front of them over which they show the puppets. You see men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of articles, which they hold projected above the wall: statutes of men and animals made of wood and stone and various materials. Of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows. And if they were able to converse with one another, would they not suppose that they were naming what was actually before them? And suppose further that there was an echo which came from the wall. Would they not be sure to think when one of the passers-by spoke, that the voice came from the passing shadows? To them, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

        And now look again and see what will naturally follow if one of the prisoners is released. At first when he is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his head round and look towards the light. All this would hurt him and he would be much too dazzled to see distinctly those things whose shadows he had seen before. And then conceive someone saying to him that what he saw before was an illusion. But that now when he is approaching nearer to reality, his eyes turn toward more real existence, he has a clearer vision. What will be his reply? And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them. Will he not be perplexed? Will he not think that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

        And suppose once more that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent and held fast until he is forced into the presence of the Sun itself. When he approaches the light his eyes would be dazzled. He would not be able to see anything at all of what are now called \u2018realities\u2019. He would require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. At first he would see the shadows best, next the reflections of objects in the water and then the objects themselves. Then he will gaze upon the stars and the spangled heavens and the light of the Moon. He will see the sky and the stars by night.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

        Last of all, he will be able to see the Sun and not mere reflections of it in the water but he will see the Sun in its own proper place and not in another. And he will contemplate the Sun as it is. Will he then not proceed to argue that it is the Sun who gives the season and the years and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world and in a certain way the cause of all things which his fellows had been accustomed to behold?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

        Truly he would first see the Sun and then reason about it. And when he remembered his old habitation and what was the wisdom of the cave and his fellow prisoners. Do you not suppose that he would bless himself for the change, pity them? And if they were in the habit of conferring honours among themselves on those who were quickest at observing the passing shadows and to remark which of them went before and which of them after and which were together and who were therefore best able to draw conclusions as to the future. Do you think he would care for such honours and glories or envy the possessors of them?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

        Imagine once more, such a one coming out of the Sun to be replaced in his old situation. Would he not be certain to have his eyes full of darkness? And if there were a contest of measuring the shadows and he had to compete with the prisoners who had never moved out of the den while his sight was still weak and before his eyes had become steady, wouldn\u2019t they all laugh at him and say he had spoiled his eyesight by going up there and that it was better not to even think of ascending? And if anyone tried to release another and lead him up to the light, would they not put him to death?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        Discussion<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

        It\u2019s like this. In the story of the ring, philosophy is about getting what you want, by getting rid of what stands in your way, which is just everything they ever told you about right and wrong. In the story of the cave, philosophy is not about learning how to get what you want: it is about learning how to\u00a0want what\u2019s actually good for you<\/i>. In the story of the ring, you keep your old desires, and you get rid of the old beliefs that tell you that desiring those things is bad. In the story of the cave, you get rid of the old beliefs, but you\u00a0also<\/i>\u00a0get rid of your old desires.<\/span><\/p>\n

        The cave story tells you the same thing as the ring story about Normal World. Both stories tell you that Normal World, with all its traditional beliefs about \u201cwhat you should do,\u201d is a lot of nonsense. It\u2019s an illusion. But the ring story stops there. In the ring story, the truth philosophy offers you is just that there is no truth. The shepherd sees that normal morality is a sham, because it\u2019s all based on consequences. No one actually cares about being good, they just care about getting what they want, since that\u2019s what a consequence is: something you\u00a0want<\/i>, or want to avoid, a desire that gets used as a carrot or a stick to keep you line.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        The cave story says that the shepherd is right about this: normal morality\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0a sham. But when the shepherd concludes that since normal morality is a sham, then there\u2019s\u00a0no\u00a0<\/i>morality at all, that it\u2019s all about getting \u201cbeyond good and evil\u201d \u2014 well,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>the cave story says the shepherd is wrong about that. Normal morality is a sham; but\u00a0morality<\/i>\u00a0is not. Philosophy shakes up normal morality. But it\u2019s not just trying to destroy things. It\u2019s not just an earthquake. It\u2019s also trying to discover something in the rubble. It\u2019s trying to find\u00a0real<\/i>\u00a0morality. It\u2019s trying to find what\u2019s really worth wanting: what\u2019s worth wanting\u00a0regardless of consequences.<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        That\u2019s important. The ring shows the shepherd that no one would be good if it weren\u2019t for consequences, and that shows him that theres\u2019 no such thing as \u201cbeing good\u201d at all. So he learns to avoid the consequences, to not feel guilty when other people want him to, to be immune to social pressure. The prisoner in the cave, the one who gets free \u2014 philosophy shows him something else. Philosophy shows him that it\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0possible to be good without thinking about the consequences. But that\u2019s exactly it:\u00a0he too learns to act without fear of consequences.\u00a0<\/i>He too learns to not feel the pressure of other people\u2019s opinions. He too learns to be free of tradition and convention. He\u2019s like the shepherd in that way. So what\u2019s the difference? That\u2019s what you have to grasp.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Look at the story again. All the elements are important. Start with the prisoners: they are like the shepherds, going about their day, doing their thing. They\u2019ve got their Normal opinions about what\u2019s real, what\u2019s true, what\u2019s good and bad. They think it\u2019s all real, and they\u2019re wrapped up in it all: they think it matters. But it\u2019s all an illusion, a fantasy: it\u2019s a\u00a0shadow<\/i>\u00a0of what\u2019s real. They\u2019re in a prison so total they don\u2019t even know they\u2019re in prison. That\u2019s what keeps them there, actually: not knowing where they are. Then, one of them gets free (how? it\u2019s not clear, is it? does someone help?). And he\u00a0turns around<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 all of a sudden he can turn his head, look at where he is from a different angle. He\u2019s been seeing things from the same angle for so long that the very possibility of seeing things differently never occurred to him.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        And what\u2019s the first thing the prisoner sees when he turns his head? He sees the men behind the curtain, the shadowcasters: the puppetmasters. All those Normal ideas about what\u2019s real, what\u2019s true, what\u2019s good and bad: they don\u2019t come from nowhere. They\u2019re made up. Other people made up the Normal opinions, and they\u2019ve been beaming them into his brain since he was a baby. And this is an earthquake in his mind. He sees he\u2019s been had, that he\u2019s been a prisoner of other people\u2019s thoughts, a slave to the images they\u2019ve been projecting into him. He\u2019s been a slave to\u00a0them.\u00a0<\/i>They rule the cave; they\u2019re the masters here, the invisible prison guards.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Now, this is where the ring story stops. In that story, the shepherd becomes the king: the slave becomes the master. In the cave story, that would be like the prisoner becoming the puppetmaster. And that\u2019s a temptation the prisoner must face. He turns around and sees that he\u2019s been on the bottom of the hierarchy without knowing it. Now that he knows it, wouldn\u2019t he burn with envy? Wouldn\u2019t he want to be on top? He\u2019s been manipulated all his life; wouldn\u2019t he now want to become the manipulator? Wouldn\u2019t he feel like it was his turn?<\/span><\/p>\n

        And so he\u2019s got to be dragged past the temptation to the join the puppetmasters, dragged further up the road, until he gets\u00a0all the way out<\/i>\u00a0of the cave. Because that\u2019s the thing. Maybe you\u2019d rather be the puppetmaster than the prisoner; maybe you\u2019d rather be the master than the slave. But the cave story shows us that\u00a0both of them are still in the cave<\/i>. What does that tell you about the puppetmasters? Well, the cave is Normal World, which is the world of illusions that people confuse with reality. If the puppetmasters live in the cave, that means they\u2019re just as trapped as the prisoners. They think they\u2019re better than the prisoners, because they know it\u2019s all a sham. But they\u2019re not better. In fact, in one way they\u2019re in\u00a0worse<\/i>\u00a0shape.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Because a prisoner who gets free will discover what it\u2019s like to want freedom. When he first sees the puppetmasters, he might confuse \u201chappiness\u201d with what they have. But he also knows now that he\u2019s been wrong, fundamentally wrong about \u201chappiness\u201d, for his whole life. So he\u2019ll be open to the idea that he could be wrong about this, too: that maybe what the puppetmasters have isn\u2019t real happiness, that there\u2019s some better kind of happiness that he doesn\u2019t want to miss out on. But a puppetmaster, who always gets what he desires (by manipulating\u00a0other<\/i>\u00a0people\u2019s desires), will have harder time imagining why anything could be better than the power to get what he wants.<\/i>\u00a0He\u2019ll have a harder time accepting the idea that what he wants is also an illusion, a product of the cave he lives in.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        So the prisoner can be led out \u2014 although the story says he has to be dragged. That he doesn\u2019t really want to go. And why would it? Because it\u2019s hard: philosophy, getting free of your cave, is hard. Unimaginably hard. Maybe it\u2019s even impossible: that\u2019s also a live possibility. Remember, this is just a story. And philosophy just wants truth, even if the truth is that there\u2019s no getting out of the cave. But anyway yes, assuming you\u00a0can<\/i>\u00a0get out, it\u2019s hard. It takes a long time, maybe a lifetime. It\u2019s not magic. So you don\u2019t want to do it. The prisoner wants to stay where it\u2019s easy. I mean \u2014 wouldn\u2019t you rather sit in a dark cozy movie theater, being entertained 24\/7, than set out for the unknown, on a journey that requires you to learn very different methods of thinking, to read a lot of difficult books, to adopt an odd \u201cposture of the mind\u201d that can be pretty uncomfortable sometimes? And because you don\u2019t want to do it, you have to be dragged.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Who has to drag you? A teacher, of course. Not necessarily your philosophy teacher. Your philosophy teacher might be stuck back in the cave with all the other prisoners. Or she might be one of the puppeteers. But some kind of teacher is necessary. You can\u2019t do it alone, and it\u2019s not because the methods are hard and the books are difficult and the mental attitude is awkward. It\u2019s because you don\u2019t\u00a0want<\/i>\u00a0to do it alone. So you need a teacher to show you what it\u2019s like to\u00a0want<\/i>\u00a0to do this. That\u2019s what a real teacher does. A real teacher doesn\u2019t stuff knowledge into your head. A real teacher shows you what it\u2019s like to\u00a0want<\/i>\u00a0different things, or to want things differently. What it\u2019s like to want knowledge \u201cfor its own sake\u201d \u2014 not for the sake of getting the carrot or avoiding the stick.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        So the prisoner gets dragged out of the cave, and what\u2019s outside? Reality.\u00a0Real<\/i>\u00a0morality: what\u2019s really good, what\u2019s really right. Not Normal Morality, that\u2019s for sure. The things they call good inside the cave might turn out to be totally bad, and the things they call bad inside the cave might turn out to be totally good. But outside the cave, there\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0good and bad, true and false, beautiful and ugly. Outside the cave, there\u2019s more than the happiness of \u201cgetting what you want.\u201d There\u2019s the happiness of being able to\u00a0want,\u00a0<\/i>to truly enjoy, what\u2019s truly good. And that\u2019s the happiness the prisoner discovers. Just like the shepherd, he gets everything he wants \u2014 but only after he\u2019s learn to want different things. Different both from what the prisoners want (to be entertained, to be socially approved, to win points in social games), and from what the puppeteers want (which is nothing but\u00a0power<\/i>). And what is it he has learned to want?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        That is harder to describe. That is what you are looking for, when you do philosophy. The story does not tell you what \u201cthe truth\u201d is. It does not give you true morality. It says: there is truth, there is morality, and it is worth looking for. But to find it, you will indeed have to leave Normal World, leave your conventional opinions. You\u2019ll have to be like the shepherd, but you\u2019ll have to go further than the shepherd. You will have to question everything, and some people\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>will not like that. Because \u2014 well, what happens when the freed prisoner returns to the cave, and tries to tell all the others what he has found? What happens when he tries to free them?<\/span><\/p>\n

        Right: they kill him. Like they killed Socrates.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Because real philosophy is every bit as dangerous as Normal People say it is. It\u2019s just as dangerous as the fake philosophy that the shepherd found. It\u2019s not a magic ring that makes you king by making you a murderer. But it\u2019s a powerful magic all it\u2019s own. If you ask a big enough question, it can tear down Normal World. And normal people don\u2019t like that. It feels like you\u2019re murdering what they love.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        So that\u2019s what you\u2019re dealing with here, when you talk about \u201cdoing philosophy.\u201d You\u2019re talking about whether you can ever get out of your cave and really, finally\u00a0live<\/i>, and how you get out, if indeed you can.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Let\u2019s assume it\u2019s possible, and let\u2019s assume you want to. Let\u2019s assume you want to keep asking the big and bigger questions that uncover the hidden assumptions and pierce the illusions that hold you back. How do you do it?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        One thing about the cave story: it says all of us are deluded by illusions, by shadows on the wall. But different people might see different shadows. The illusions that hold one person back might be different from the illusions that hold another person back. In Part Three, you\u2019re going to think about two different kinds of illusion. Both of them are illusions about\u00a0ourselves<\/i>, about who we really are. They are the shadows that hide the truth about ourselves, the truth we leave the cave to find. We\u2019ll call the first kind \u201cdaydreams.\u201d These are illusions that we like, pleasing illusions of\u00a0superiority<\/i>. We\u2019ll call the second kind \u201cnightmares.\u201d These are illusions that we don\u2019t like, distressing illusions of\u00a0inferiority<\/i>. The daydreams make us believe that we are better than we actually are; they nightmares make us believe that we are worse than we actually are.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        For some of us, the cave is mostly a daydream; for others, the cave is mostly a nightmare. But the point is this: daydreams and nightmares are both illusions. They\u2019re both lies. And philosophy wants only truth: nothing more, nothing less.<\/span><\/p>\n

        In the next three chapters, you are going to explore the relationship between the daydreams and the nightmares, and between the prisoners and the puppetmasters. You are going to start by thinking about a question that takes us you into a special branch of philosophy, which is called\u00a0political<\/i>\u00a0philosophy. Political philosophy focuses on the third kind of philosophical question, the one we focus on in this class: the ethical question\u00a0what should I do?\u00a0<\/i>Except that when you are doing political philosophy, you are asking not so much about what\u00a0you<\/i>\u00a0should do, as you are asking about what\u00a0we<\/i>\u00a0should do. Instead of \u201cwhat should I do with my life?\u201d or \u201chow should I live?\u201d, you\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>are asking\u00a0how should we live together<\/i>?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Reflection<\/h3>\n
          \n
        1. \n

          Visualize the cave in as much detail as you can, paying careful attention to Socrates\u2019 description. In your journal, draw a picture or map of the cave.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        2. \n

          The Cave is a situation <\/i>with certain features<\/i>. For example; there are shadows, chains, fire, etc. Based on your reading and your drawing, make a list of these features.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        3. \n

          The Cave is an allegory: each feature of the situation <\/i>represents some feature of what Plato sees as our human situation<\/i>. Use your list: suggest what each feature might represent about the human situation. Write at least 250 words explaining how Plato seems to see the human situation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"Chapter 4 - Cave","pb_subtitle":"Where Am I?","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":26,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/30"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/30\/revisions\/248"}],"part":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/26"}],"metadata":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/30\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/bigquestions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}