Escaping Plato’s Cave as a Mystical Experience: A Survey in Sufi Literature

Abstract

This paper puts forward a mystical reading of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave by comparing it with some allegories from Sufi literature, Islamic mystical tradition. The paper argues that the determining parts of the allegory, such as escaping the cave as the world of shadows; seeing the sun/truth and becoming a philosopher; and the necessity of returning to the cave, have significant similarities to what Sufis have said about their mystical experience and spiritual enlightenment. The paper compares the Allegory of the Cave with some similar allegories in Sufi literature, focusing on the allegories of prison, hunting the shadows of a flying bird, dying before dying, and the elephant in the dark Room in Rumi’s works. After an introduction to the reception of Plato in the Islamic intellectual tradition and different interpretations of the Allegory of the Cave, this paper discusses four similarities between these allegories. Finally, the paper supports the mystical reading of Plato’s Cave by using Pierre Hadot’s thesis on Philosophy as a Way of Life, which challenges the sharp dichotomy of philosophy and mysticism in mainstream intellectual historiography.