411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Plato's Cave
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Allegory of the Cave
Etymology
Described by Plato in the Allegory of the Cave in the Republic (Plato) Republic.
Proper noun
Plato's Cave
en philosophy epistemology An allegorical cave whose unwitting, chained inhabitants perceive reality only in the form of shadow puppetry cast by the light of a man-made fire, lacking any awareness of the limitations of their perspective or its constructed nature.
Usage notes
The cave itself is only part of the allegory, which describes the experiences of a person leaving the cave and what lies outside, though the two are sometimes conflated.
Translations
the allegorical cave
Portuguese: pt Caverna de Platão f
See also
en Good the Good
en eponyms