The “allegory of the cave” is Socrates’ view of how education and knowledge works. He basically believes that everybody is capable of education but some want education more than others. The man in the cave who starts off as a prisoner, and is then thrown into the real world, comes to realize that there are bigger things than the shadows, statues and fire that he experienced in the cage. Living life in cage can only allow people to have a certain amount of knowledge, and everything they know will only be based on their experience in the cage. If people progress and start to experience new things, their knowledge of life will all grow and progress as well.

However, in my opinion Socrates is not saying that people need to be dragged out of their “cage” in order to gain education. I believe that Socrates feels that those who really want to experience life and the world, will show this through their studies. Socrates mentions that the man who escapes the cage and its darkness, and enters outside where there is light, will have enough experience to go back and teach those who are not as educated as him. Those individuals must show that they are also capable of growth, and Socrates mentions that those individuals must be watched when saying “have an eye on those who show the greatest ability in these questions, and the greatest firmness, not only in study, but also in war and other branches of discipline.” (253) I can see that Socrates feels that those who lead a virtuous life are mostly likely to have greater education over other individuals, and it seems like this is his one of his ways of maintaining happiness.