Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Plato's Cave
Plato argues that most of us are like prisoners in a cave who are bound in such a way that we can only see shadows of objects projected on a wall. Not only can we not see the objects that cast the shadows, we cannot even see the objects outside of the cave. A more modern analogy might have the prisoner's watching a movie or perhaps "plugged in" to a virtual reality program. What is Plato claiming about the ordinary person? What is our epistemic state? Do we have any hope in escaping? And most importantly, is Plato correct? In short, what is your interpretation of Plato's allegory of the cave and is the allegory the correct way to view the human quest for knowledge?
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I believe that Plato is attempting to state many things about not only society of his time but also ours. Firstly, Plato is claiming that the vast majority of society are subject to being prisoners who can't escape their perceived reality. Plato uses the analogy of the shadows on the wall to demonstrate how people are only able to visualize a shadow of truth. Essentially, those who are held prisoner to the shadows are fed lies. Though Plato demonstrates how a small few are able to break free from their chains. Plato explains how when they turn their heads the brightness of the fire will cause them distress and at first they will barely able to make out clear images of the objects. Though, if they can make out the objects they will realize the falseness of the shadows. Furthermore, to an even more extreme level some will be able to escape the cave with great pain due to the brightness of the sun. Finally, Plato explains how those who have witnessed the true reality of the world will return to the cave with distress to attempt to resort to their false beliefs. Thus, those who have found knowledge cannot unlearn the truth and return to stupidity. Plato also explains how the rest of society simply believes those enlightened few as to have had their eyes damaged. I believe that in our modern society this analogy can be easily applied to how the vast majority of society can be manipulated through the media around themselves. I believe that people are hooked onto the marketing of the falsities society wants you to believe. Whether these falsities are an attempt at making you vote for a politician or an attempt to make you believe you need to buy a certain product there is always some sort of product to sell. Thus, as with the analogy there are those few who are able to attempt to question all the product that is attempted to be sold to them through the media. Although it can be very distressful for the individual, I find that the first clearing up of the artifacts is a person learning to question and criticize what someone is telling you. Then, like the realization of the world outside of the cave is analogous to how few people are able to realize the greatest truth which is the purpose of most product all together. But no matter how hard the enlightened few try to warn society of the sophestry that is at work to seduce people into buying the manipulators product the majority of society won't believe them. Furthermore, those enlightened few cannot demean themselves to their once gullible level of greed.
ReplyDeletePlato, in his allegory of the cave, is trying to explain human nature and the quest for knowledge with an allegory that still functions today. The human quest for knowledge, as described by Plato in the allegory of the cave, is heavily dependent upon will and flexibility. The prisoners chained to the wall are meant to represent the general population: forced to look at the shadows on the wall, interpreting the likeness of an object to be ultimate reality, because this is all the prisoners truly know and have ever known. The Philosopher is represented by the freed prisoner: it seems that the philosopher has made the conscious choice to explore reality and find its true form, and thus has broken free of the chains which tie them to viewing likenesses and shadows. The philosopher, upon exploring reality and goodness, attempts to return to the cave and free the rest of the prisoners from their chains; however the prisoners are satiated by their narrow views and cling to them, refusing to take the philosophers’ knowledge into consideration, even mocking them and such a quest. This narrow mindedness exhibited by the chained prisoners is truly a metaphor for the human condition in its quest, or lack thereof, for knowledge. The prisoners, a representation of the average person, refuse to learn of true reality in fear of abandoning their own views and mindsets. The quest for knowledge is really about accepting knowledge, and making bold steps to challenge and thus broaden individual perception. The only hope in escaping from the chains which bond one to visual perception and appearance, and to broaden ones horizons to the intelligible realm, is to have the curiosity and courage to do so.
ReplyDeleteIn the allegory of the cave Plato is claiming that the majority of people are content with only looking at what is shown to them without really knowing what it’s true form is. The chained prisoners are only able to comprehend the things that they are seeing to a certain extent. For example if a dog was projected onto the wall, when talking to each other the prisoners would refer to the projection as a dog when in reality it is only a shadow of a dog, not the real thing. Similarly, the fire used to project these images is just a representation of the sun not the real thing. In the Allegory the sun represents the highest form of goodness. When the prisoners are released they have the ability to turn around, leave the cave and realize their mistake. The ones who have this realization are able to see things, like the sun, for what they actually are, a complex idea rather than just a physical being. In the Allegory these would be the prisoners who escape, then return to the cave to try to get the other prisoners to leave the cave and see what is real. The people who don’t come to this realization don’t have true knowledge and instead choose to live in ignorance. These would be the prisoners who don't listen to reason and instead of leaving the cave, choose to stay and make fun of those telling them to leave. A similar situation would be like if you knew all the evidence behind the reason for something and had no evidence that goes against it and you still chose to believe that it is wrong. A modern day example would be global warming because there is scientific evidence backing it up but some people choose to ignore it because they don’t think that it affects them, they don't bother to learn about it or because they can't see it they don’t believe that it actually exists. Only seeing something for they physical form would be like choosing to stay in the cave and only look at the shadow of the dog, never learning what a dog truly is.
ReplyDeletePlato is arguing that the average person is a slave to the societal norms and does not seek out a different view of life. He argues that the common man knows nothing but what is shown to him and accepts this. If someone is shown something and told that it is what is real they will not seek out higher knowledge. He gives the example of the chained men shown shadows on the wall of a cave. They think that what they are shown is what is real because they have never known anything else. Man is stuck this way until they can find knowledge. Knowledge like what is known by Plato, Socrates, and other philosophers, is the path to learning what is real. Goodness and morality cannot be seen by the man in the cave, only once you break the proverbial chains to leave the metaphorical cave you can become enlightened and know what is good and what is moral. To the common man ignorance is bliss. They are happy not knowing the true meaning of life and the answers to life’s questions. Plato also argues that the common man will not necessarily accept what the real truths are. When a common man is freed from the cave, if he does not have knowledge then he will be unable to comprehend the truths and will not accept them as what is real. They are ignorant to learning if they do not already have some knowledge and are willing to persevere through the overwhelming pressure of the public to face the truth
ReplyDeleteThe analogy of the cave represents different levels of knowledge - only the final being true knowledge. Prisoners shackled to a cave can only see shadows of the outside world, but if this is all they know, then they accept it as knowledge. However, the shadows and reflections of things are only the most basic and visceral forms of knowledge. The prisoners are representative of ordinary people who believe only what they can see and are therefore lacking true knowledge. However, one prisoner escapes from the cave and sees the outside world. This is similar to a philosopher discovering the true forms, or the highest truth and reality. When he goes back to the other prisoners, they do not believe what he says about what is outside the cave, for they do not see it themselves and are content watching the shadows. Clearly, there is some hope of escaping, for one of the prisoners sees the world as it is for himself even though the rest of them do not. I think Plato is mostly correct in his assumptions about knowledge. Time is such a concept that cannot be fully understood by only observing with the naked eye. We cannot witness the physical passage of time, but we can see its effects. Watching a flower bloom, for example, is not time itself, but rather the result of it progressing.
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