The
Analogy of the Divided Line (or
Allegory of the Divided Line; ) is presented by the
Greek philosopher
Plato in the
Republic (509d–511e). It is written as a dialogue between
Glaucon and
Socrates, in which the latter further elaborates upon the immediately preceding
Analogy of the Sun at the former's request. Socrates asks Glaucon to not only envision this unequally bisected line but to imagine further bisecting each of the two segments. Socrates explains that the four resulting segments represent four separate 'affections' (παθήματα) of the psyche. The lower two sections are said to represent the
visible while the higher two are said to represent the intelligible. These affections are described in succession as corresponding to increasing levels of reality and truth from conjecture (
εἰκασία) to belief () to thought (
διάνοια) and finally to understanding (). Furthermore this Analogy not only elaborates a theory of the psyche but also presents metaphysical and epistemological views.