Plato is most renown for his written interpretations of his teacher, Socrates. It is within the sixth book of The Republic in which an important analogy comes to sight; the analogy of the sun. Many questions regarding this analogy have been orbiting the minds of great thinkers, one being whether or not the analogy makes any sense. The obvious answer is yes, it does make sense, but before we dive into this topic, a proper explanation of the allegory of the sun is needed.

The origins of the allegory comes from a conversation between Socrates and Glaucon, Plato’s older brother. Within this discussion, Socrates brings forth the idea that the sun represents the good, and that the sun is God-like. It is further explained that the sun “makes our sight see best and visible things best seen.” (Reeve & Miller 199) Distinguished facts about the sun and the good then come into view, as Socrates states even though sight and the light are thought to be like the sun, they are not quite the same as the sun. Furthermore, the sun “not only gives visible things the power to be seen, but also provides for their coming-to-be, growth, and nourishment… existence and being are also due to it.” (Reeve & Miller 200) Socrates believes that all things come into existence due to the sun/the good, but not only does it make everything visible, it also makes everything grow.

With a brief summary of the allegory of the sun in mind, it is easy to suggest that this allegory makes perfect sense, and that in fact the sun/the good is being personified as Helios, giving the interpretation that the sun is God. While the sun represents the good, the good is seen as a source for light and visibility, more so a source for intellect. Furthermore, Socrates holds the sun responsible for giving us sight, and with the good enabling us to see, it enables us to have a capacity for knowledge. Lastly, as mentioned near the end of his argument, the sun is the cause for which things come to be nourished and therefore grown. The good is responsible for the existence of all objects, the existence of forms, essentially the cause of everything coming to be in the visible and intelligible realms. (Reeve & Miller 199-200)

When dealing with intellect, a quote from the sixth book of The Republic comes to mind. Socrates is believed to have stated, “the latter is in the intelligible realm in relation to understanding and intelligible things, and the former is in the visible realm on relation to sight and visible things.” (Reeve & Miller 199) He essentially means that the good is the source of intelligibility. The Oxford Dictionary describes intelligible as the ability “to be understood; comprehensible.” (Intelligible n.d.) Using this definition and relating back to the argument that the sun represents the good, the good is seen as a source for light and visibility, more so a source for intellect, it is easy to see that the sun makes the visible realm comprehensible due to its giving of light and visibility. If it were night, you would not be able to establish what certain objects are, they would seem rather imperfect. Socrates tells Glaucon to think of it as the same with the eye of the soul. He states “when it focuses on something that is illuminated both by truth and what is, it understands. But when it focuses on what is mixed with obscurity, on what comes to be and passes away, it believes and is dimmed, changed its belief this way and that, seems bereft of understanding.” (Reeve & Miller 199) An easier example could simply be as follows; a plant that you find in the middle of the forest during the night. If you were to stand several feet away from the plant, you would be unable to see it. The object you are viewing will appear a little distorted, maybe disfigured, and possibly animal like if you were not that experienced with plants. However, with the sun and much more light, you can see the object from a few feet away and can make it out to be a plant. Do not get this mixed up with the theory that just because you can not properly see the object, it does not exist. The plant still physically exists, however when it is shrouded by darkness it is hard to point out certain characteristics of the object, it is nearly impossible. Even though things are there and visible, their true perfect form cannot be seen without light. Therefore, it can be seen that the good, by producing light and visibility, acts as a source of intelligibility.

Now that the good has granted us light and visibility, allowing us to see objects clearly and understand what they are, the next thing that comes to the plate is knowledge. As defined in the Oxford Dictionary, knowledge is known as “facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.” (Knowledge n.d.) Some philosophers will argue that knowledge is a priori (knowledge that is independent of any experiences, knowledge that you are born with) while others will argue that it is a posteriori (knowledge gained from experience). Descartes on the other hand would bring about the issue of whether or not you are being deceived by an evil genie. However, going off the assumption that the good is not evil, and that the sun in all of this may be a representation of God, while also assuming the good and the sun would not attempt to deceive us, then knowledge is gained from experience. Leading from the previous paragraph, thanks to the light allowing visibility and being a source of intelligibility, this leaves us to gain knowledge from experiencing things that are visible to us. Socrates states “the power to know the knower is the form of the good. And as the cause of knowledge and truth, you must think of it as an object of knowledge… so, here it is right to think of knowledge and truth as goodlike.” (Reeve & Miller 199). What he is saying here is that with having the power to know, that is a form of the good, and with knowing leading to knowledge and the truth, you much think of the object you see ahead of you to be real, to be a fact, to be considered knowledge. An example that builds off this is the moon at night. The suns light reflects of the moon at night, making the moon visible, therefore one can comprehend it. The moon on most nights can be seen to dip below the horizon and once the night nears again the next day, it comes back up into sight. After several encounters of this, you will be led to believe that each night the moon will dip below the horizon and come back up the next day as the sun beings to settle below the horizon. You can infer that no matter what, this process will happen each morning and each night. This is because the good is the source of the light that allows you to understand and comprehend the moons existence, and from experience, along with knowledge (coming from the source of the good), you can make these inferences without any complications, and these inferences will be considered knowledge. It is easy to see that the allegory of the sun, using this argument, is further proven to make sense, and at this point it is easy to point out that the good allows us to be enlightened.

With intelligibility and knowledge, the one thing that has not been mentioned is existence in general. Every day life requires the sun in order to survive. The Earth requires it because without light energy, photosynthesis would not occur, meaning that plants would not grow, and any sustainable food source the requires this process would not be able to grow, meaning in the extinction of species. Animals, including humans, require light because it heats our atmosphere, keeping the temperature in check so that it does not become out of control. The Earth can get relatively cold during certain periods of the year, but it never drops low enough to begin killing living things (that is in places that experience seasons, unlike the Arctic or the Antarctic). So, with the sun being the good, Socrates states to Glaucon that “the sun, I think you would say, not only gives visible things the power to be seen but also provides for their coming-to-be, growth, nourishment… not only do the object of knowledge owe their being known to the good, but their existence and being are also due to it.” (Reeve & Miller 200) Essentially, Socrates is saying that all things come to exist because of the good, and the good is beyond being. The sun is responsible for all things that exist, the visible realm and the intelligible realm, as well as knowledge, and everything that has come to be, making existence a supporting factor towards the allegory of the sun.

Going back near the beginning of this paper, it was noted that the good/the sun could represent God. As the Oxford Dictionary defined it, God, “in Christianity and other monotheistic religions, [is] the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.” (God n.d.) This definition comes close to what is trying to be proven, but it does not quite hit the nail on the head. A second definition from the same source states “God [is] a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes… God as [the] creator.” (God n.d.) Narrowing the definitions together, simply put God is this all-powerful being that created the universe and has power over nature and human well-being. Tracing back to the first argument in the essay, that sun is the good, the good is the source of light that allows for visibility. This visibility allows for intelligibility, meaning an allowance for understanding and comprehension. God is supposed to be thing being that allows for human fortune, so naturally these two things fall hand in hand. Moving to the second argument that this light and visibility allows for knowledge, this seems to relate to God having power over human nature. Knowledge is something that humans, by nature, seek to have in order to live an enhanced life. With visibility of object and the gaining of knowledge from this, it appears the good has displayed another characteristic of God. Lastly, the sun/the good is being reported to be the cause of the existence of all things. The sun nourishes life on Earth, promotes growth, and sustains the existence of all things. In the above definition, God is thought to be the creator of everything, once again establishing a firm link between the thesis and the presented arguments.

Therefore, through various definitions, in depth breakdowns of Socrates’ ideas and concepts, a clear image of the eligibility of the thesis comes into view. Looking at the concept of visibility through light, enabling intelligibility, the experience of these objects and the understanding of them leading to knowledge, and lastly that the good/the sun is the source for the existence of all things, they all lead to a simple conclusion. The allegory of the sun makes perfect sense, as the sun represents God, and all supporting arguments are indicative of this.

Works Cited

Miller, P.L. & Reeve, C.D.C. (2006). Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy. Republic, Book 6. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Oxford Dictionaries. God. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/God

Oxford Dictionaries. Intelligible. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/intelligible

Oxford Dictionaries. Knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/knowledge