Cave and Apology

Socrates was a philosophical man who lived his life asking prying question in order to guide others to the truth. This manner along with his knowledge and other traits led him to be put on trial for failing to recognize the gods represented by the state, creating new gods, and corrupting Athens' youth. Soon after the trail, Plato wrote an account of the speech that Socrates used to defend himself, titled The Apology. In order to clarify the ideas communicated in The Apology, Plato, a close friend of Socrates, took the liberty of creating a dialogue between his brother, Glaucon, and Socrates. This dialogue found in The Republic, is known as The Cave Analogy, further explained the reasoning behind Socrates' beliefs and actions. Overall, the cave represents real knowledge in the world compared to the fallacies society presents. The inside of the cave signifies a bell jar, encouraging naivety and ignorance, while the truths of the outside world linger just on the other side of the cave walls. The enlightened men walk around the perimeter and only through them can prisoners of the cave escape to freedom and truth. Via The Cave Analogy, Plato attempts to prove Socrates' points made throughout The Apology by demonstrating that Socrates is one of those enlightened outsiders who has successfully escaped from the cave, therefore making him capable of leading other unaware men remaining in the cave out as a result of educating them.

Plato titles his account of Socrates' speech The Apology, however, the modern understanding of the word is far from the objective of the speech. The Greek word "apologia" translates into a speech made in defense, meaning Socrates was not apologizing for his actions, but supporting his so-called crimes. Socrates defended himself, saying that his wisdom was intended to be shared with others. He explained, "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Plato, The Apology, 38a). He had attempted to spread his knowledge through reflective questioning aimed at the wise and believed that to be the real reason he had been put on trial.

After the trial and Plato's recounting of Socrates'