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Socrates' influence on Plato was a profound one, and Plato uses Socrates as a major character in many of his works. In The Republic, Plato presents an allegory that is useful in illustrating the difficulties and rewards of critical, philosophical analysis. This allegory, the allegory of the cave, may be read as a parable of political theory itself.
Like all parables and allegories, the richness of its teachings lies not in the literal details of the story, but rather in the larger philosophical questions implied by the details. Just as the parable of the boy who cried wolf, for example, is not really meant to teach the mechanics of sheep herding or wolf tracking, but instead is a compelling allegory because it teaches us about issues such as honesty and human needs, same with Plato's allegory of the cave. It is not really about caves at all. It is about grasping with the questions we need to understand in order to be enlightened about the world. In The Republic, Plato has the......

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