Cave and Magic Lamp
Cave and Magic Lamp

Summary/Abstract: We dwell in a cave, searching for a magic lamp. No kidding. This is not a masquerade. A light embodied into the magic lamp stems from the inside of the cave. T here is no cave without a lantern or the other way round. The cave and the magic lamp constitute the foundations of the darkness-and-light life oxymoron. This essay aims to explore the imaginary space of the cave and the lamp as a topic, a genre, an emotion, a symbol and a world of the uncanny in a fairy tale, in knowledge and everyday life. Plato’s parable, the Cave, and the fairy tale of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from the 1001 Nights are just two symbolic reference points that provide a suitable landscape for a journey of meditation and pondering in a world of magic. T he quest for the magic lamp becomes an inner human urge to comprehend, realise, experience and believe, but not understand at the same time. Certainly, the cave and the magic lamp shed light on crucial life dimensions, dilemmas and struggles. A genie granting wishes and capable of helping one get ‘out of the cave’ remains ubiquitous in human experience. The cave and the magic lamp render human adventure of human existence possible, making it always fit for endless exploration. This essay is a small effort to tread along that path.

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