Meagan asked:

I have to write a paper on this question, "What was Plato's purpose in writing the cave in the
Republic?" and I don't really understand what his purpose was so I was wondering if you could tell
me.

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Plato's cave is a metaphorical exploration of his ideas of basic forms. He held that over all existent
things, there are pure forms which exist outside of our world, yet define things within it. The basic
form is like a mould which defines the constitution of real objects. for instance, all breeds of dog are
very different in their constitution, yet they're defined as being 'the same'. Plato maintains that there is
a pure dog form which exists in a metaphysical space, this space defines the way we view the world.
We compare real dogs to this mould — four legs, tail, barking, fur etc.

In the cave, the shadows on the wall represent the images we receive in the real world — pale copies
of the original form (which casts the shadow). The man who breaks free of the chains and makes his
way into the world of forms, is the philosopher. Plato believed the job of the philosopher was to
escape subjectivism and to reach object reality through rational introspection. By escaping the cave
the "philosopher" enters the metaphysical world of the form.

However, upon returning to the cave, the escapee is killed. This relates to Socrates' death at the
hands of the Athenian ruling class. The ideas of Socrates were seen as dangerous, subsequently he
was seen as a heretic. As I'm sure you know he took hemlock, under duress from the good people of
Athens.

Plato presents the idea that philosophers are the "chosen few" who will lead their people to a higher
plane, the people to be lead however are not easily persuaded.

Daniel Williams