The Programmer

22 The Cave. This image begins Book VII of the Republic. Socrates introduces it to explain the effect of education (or the lack of it) on human nature. In the cave, prisoners are tied so that they can only see the wall of the cave, on which shadows play. The shadows are created by a fire burning behind them that shines on people (probably poets and statesmen) carrying statues of natural objects; these people walk along an elevated road, and their shadows are the only reality the prisoners know. One day a prisoner gets loose from the shackles, turns, and is blinded temporarily by the fire. He then sees an opening out of the cave and is dragged up the rough, steep path to the outside. There he is initially blinded by the Sun, and cannot see what is around him. Finally, his eyes adjust and he sees, first, images reflected in water, then the things themselves, and finally the Sun itself. However, the Sun is blinding, and so he can only look for any extended time at its image reflected in water. For Plato, education is a turningofthe soul in the right direction, to see (comprehend) reality: The prisoner who left the Cave must go back (it is his duty, but he must be forced), to bring the truth to those still there. However, just telling them will not put the truth into their souls; they must experience the journey and the revelation themselves. Metabibliography Addendum In the "Metabibliography" included in the March 1997 issue of Computers and Society, I unfortunately overlooked an important bibliographic resource: Rob Kling's Computerization and Controversy. (My apologies to Rob!) Kling, Rob, ed. "References," in Computerization and Controversy: Value Conflicts andSocial Choices. 2nd ed. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1996. Identifies more than 400 bibliographic references , which are included at the end of each of the book's eight parts: "Heads Up! Mental Models for Traveling through the World," "Dreams ofTechnological Utopianism," "The Economic, Cultural, and Organizational Dimensions of Computerization," "Computerization and the Transformation of Work," "Social Relationships in Electronic Forums," "Privacy and Social Control ," "System Safety and Social Vulnerabili~" and "Ethical Perspectives and Professional Responsibilities for Information and Computer Science Professionals." (For more information, see my review of this book in "Selecting a Computer Ethics Coursebook" in the December 1996 issue of Computers and Society.) Bibliography on the Web Several books and …