Will, Doubt, Morality

According to the standard modern interpretation of the passage in the Republic best known as 'Plato's Cave', its main theme is Epistemological, i. e. it demonstrates the unreliability of sense information. However, given the contrast in the passage between the Good and the chains of conditioned behavior, the broader topic is plainly Moral. The progenitor of that modern interpretation is Descartes, when, instead of pursuing a Moral theme in the Discourse and the Meditations, he concerns himself with the establishment of Knowledge. That is, instead of 'I can doubt that X is true', he might have examined 'I can doubt that X is good', by which he could have detached himself from heteronomous influences, e. g. from received dogma, as well as from external stimuli. The two projects have the same basis--Doubt is an expression of the ability to do otherwise, i. e. of Will, as has been previously discussed. So, with a subtle inflection he could have explored detaching himself from a set of practices, rather than from one of cognitions.