What can Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” teach us about the most basic philosophical questions such as, What is the meaning of my life? What kind of person do I want to be? How do I achieve that goal? Chapter 1 of the textbook uses Plato’s allegory as a starting point to address those questions in a discussion of how self-realization and autonomy relate to moral virtue.

1. Review the textbook section titled “Philosophy and the Search for Wisdom” (Chapter 1, pp. 11-15).
2. Watch the short video below: https://youtu.be/1RWOpQXTltA
3. Imagining this as an allegory of your own moral, intellectual, or emotional development, think of a time in your life when you learned a new truth that changed your thinking or behavior.
4. Write 100-200 words in which you briefly describe a personal “escape from the cave” experience, and respond to one or more of the following (or similar) questions:

Was it a sudden “ontological shock” (as discussed on p. 32) or did it happen gradually?
Were you surprised or uncomfortable with the change in your worldview?
Did it affect the way you were able to relate to your friends and/or family?
Were you able to change their minds about something because of your new knowledge?
Or, like the man who tried going back to the cave, did you have to move on, accepting that you no longer could relate your previous relationships and/or worldviews.