In 1973, Orson Welles narÂratÂed this aniÂmatÂed short, which feaÂtures someÂwhat surÂreÂal artÂwork by Dick Oden. You can see more of Oden’s work here.
The AlleÂgoÂry of the Cave illusÂtrates PlaÂto’s view of knowlÂedge as preÂsentÂed in Book VII of The RepubÂlic: in ordiÂnary expeÂriÂence, we see only shadÂows of the true world, which we can only behold by purÂsuÂing rigÂorÂous philoÂsophÂiÂcal analyÂsis.
This is not the only time “The Cave” has been set to film in some form. Open CulÂture readÂers may recall this brilÂliant verÂsion done with clayÂmaÂtion. GlutÂtons for punÂishÂment may wish to peruse this colÂlecÂtion of 20 YouTube verÂsions at PartiallyExaminedLife.com, many of them frightÂfulÂly amaÂteurÂish and some of them preÂsentÂing a warped and/or incomÂpreÂhenÂsiÂble verÂsion of the stoÂry.
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RelatÂed ConÂtent:
FreeÂdom RivÂer: A ParaÂble Told by Orson Welles
Free PhiÂlosÂoÂphy CoursÂes
Mark LinÂsenÂmayÂer runs the ParÂtialÂly ExamÂined Life phiÂlosÂoÂphy podÂcast and blog, which recentÂly released an episode disÂcussing PlaÂto’s RepubÂlic.