#146: The Original 'Red Pill':The Comfort of the Lie & Pain of Waking Up (Plato's Republic, Book 7)

About this episode

The episode explores the Allegory of the Cave from Plato's Republic, questioning the nature of reality and perception.

What if everything you think is "Real" is just a shadow cast on a wall by someone else? In Book VII of The Republic, Socrates gives us the most famous and most terrifying image in the history of philosophy: The Allegory of the Cave. He describes a group of prisoners chained in a dark cave since childhood. They can’t move their heads. All they can see is the wall in front of them. Behind them is a fire. And between the fire and the prisoners, there are "Puppeteers" holding up statues of people...

People in this episode

Host: David D. Hopkins, PhD

Topics covered

• philosophy
• Allegory of the Cave
• perception of reality
• Socrates
• truth vs. illusion

Keywords

• Plato
• philosophy
• Allegory of the Cave
• Socrates
• reality
• truth
• illusion

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Plato's Republic

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