That is the question...
Hello Micheal. Within the cave it is dark. The prisoners are forced to look at images, shadows, cast on the wall.
The escaped prisoner leaves the cave. He sees the light beyond the cave, follows this light, and enters the real
world.
The escaped prisoner entering the light has been enlightened. Enlightenment is the truth. Thus the light
symbolizes the truth, reality, knowledge, etc.
The darkness within the cave and the cave itself represents deception, ignorance, the unreal world.
This means that as prisoners in a cave we are ignorant and oppressed by shadows, until we journey to
enlightenment, beyond the cave, which is truth, knowledge, etc.
I hope this helps.
-Platonia
It is with eyes that we see. It is with the minds eye that we know.
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