Federico Dal Barco
What do Plato, one of the most important philosophers in history, and Lucy, the protagonist of HBO's Fallout series, have in common? Much more than we might think. Both, for instance, would leave the safety of their home to confront ghoul-infested wastelands and ruthless mercenaries. Both are driven by a relentless search for truth, understood as a moral value and as the aspiration to lead a better life. The only real difference, perhaps, is that Lucy, along the way, has to kill more ghouls than Plato ever did. This chapter draws a parallel between Lucy's adventures in the wasteland and Plato's cave myth, one of the most iconic and symbolic narratives in the history of philosophy. The stages of the prisoners' liberation in the cave essentially mirror the development of Lucy's story: first, she is overwhelmed by the light of the real world, and then she gradually comes to understand her role as a guide for surface civilization, acting as an enlightened, Platonic philosopher. Watching Lucy's journey, we may wonder whether it is really reasonable to leave one's comfortable home in order to pursue an unknown truth. Plato, this chapter argues, can still help us see why this choice makes profound philosophical sense.