The allegory of the cave (Part 1) - Plato

In the first part of the Allegory of the Cave, Plato describes people held captive since birth, their gaze fixed on the wall of a cave.

Behind them is a wall, beyond which other people move figures made of wood and stone. A fire projects the shadows of these figures onto the cave wall.

For the prisoners, the shadows are reality itself.

This interactive experience relates to this part of the story.

DEBRIEFING Part 1

In this experience, you could not truly interact. You simply watched a game projected onto your screen: a shadow of reality.

The paddles and ball were altered compared with the classic game, and you had no control.

You too were watching the "wall of the cave".

The allegory of the cave (Part 2) - Plato

In the second part of the allegory, one prisoner manages to free himself from his chains.

At first he is dazzled by the light and feels pain, but gradually he adjusts and recognises the real objects.

Now he understands that the shadows were not reality. When he returns to the cave to tell the others, he is mocked and not believed.

In the first experience, you tried to interact with the shadows of reality. Now you will explore the reality that produced those shadows.

DEBRIEFING Part 2

In the first experience, you interacted with shadows; now you explore the reality that produced those shadows.

But are you sure that is the case?