Plato’s famous allegory of the cave, written around 380 bce, is one of the most important and influential passages of The Republic. It vividly illustrates the concept of Idealism as it was taught in the Platonic Academy, and provides a metaphor which philosophers have used for millennia to help us overcome superficiality and materialism. In this dialogue, Socrates (the main speaker) explains to Plato’s brother, Glaukon, that we all resemble captives who are chained deep within
a cavern, who do not yet realize that there is more to reality than the shadows they see against the wall.
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/seyer/files/plato_republic_514b-518d_allegory-of-the-cave.pdf
Philosophy
