| Because of how we live, true reality is not obvious to most
of us. However, we mistake what we see and hear for reality and truth. This is
the basic premise for
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, in which prisoners sit in a
cave, chained down, watching images cast on the wall in front of them. They
accept these views as reality and they are unable to grasp their overall
situation: the cave and images are a ruse, a mere shadow show orchestrated for
them by unseen men. At some point, a prisoner is set free and is forced to see
the situation inside the cave. Initially, one does not want to give up the
security of his or her familiar reality; the person has to be dragged past the
fire and up the entranceway. This is a difficult and painful struggle. When
individuals step into the sunshine, their eyes slowly accommodate to the light
and their fundamental view of the world, of reality, is transformed. They come
to see a deeper, more genuine, authentic reality: a reality marked by reason.
The individual then makes the painful readjustment back into the darkness of the
cave to free the prisoners. However, because he now seems mad -describing a new
strange reality - they reject him to the point of threatening to kill him.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is a direct representation of the human condition,
the circumstances we as humans presently encounter, circumstances such as
conceptual frameworks, or basic beliefs, and our typical behaviors in society.
The allegory metaphorically describes our situation as human beings in the world
today. In his story, Plato utilizes several key elements to portray his metaphor
of the human condition. Plato’s image contains pertinent ideas about society
that are relevant to my everyday life. Through his reading, I have begun to
discover the ideal form, the use of reason over perception to approach, view,
and judge all things.
Prisoners, watching life unfold on the cave wall in
front of them, accepting what they see as truth, as reality, are literally
people. Every average person in this world is a prisoner, chained down. These
chains that bind the prisoners to the floor are beliefs. Take clothes for
instance, a person may not have very much money, so they should not spend
enormous amounts on clothing, but the fear of not being accepted due to out of
style clothes requires said person to spend too much money on their clothes. The
fear spoken of is derivative of the person’s beliefs, holding them to abide by
the cultural norms, in this case purchasing over priced clothing. The prisoners
are gazing at shadows on the wall, until he or she breaks free. To break free in
this world, you must look at objects, individuals, cities and societies, even
the universe as a whole, with reason. Do not simply rely on perceptions and
senses to grasp concepts.
People carrying figures of humans, animals, and
plants crafted from wood or stone, cast images on the wall for the prisoners to
gawk at. These people are the political, business, and educational leaders that
feed the average person their own ideologies, beliefs about various things.
These individuals are in today’s society, people like George Bush, the
President. He makes decisions for us, and tells us what to believe on certain
subjects. After the attack on our country, he decided to send to troops in and
attack Afghanistan. In this particular example, the President’s beliefs may be
correct, however, that is not a relevant fact. What is relevant, though, is that
in questioning his decision, I have now formulated my own opinion and belief on
the subject, thus not simply buying into the views and beliefs being fed to me.
A roadway is described as being behind the prisoners, and it is this roadway
that the men walked on when carrying the figures. This roadway depicts the path
used to deliver whatever message it is that the leaders previously mentioned
want delivered. The Internet and television both are very profitable sources for
these men. If someone hears on the news that there was a war going on in the
Middle East, than they would believe it. Without ever personally viewing the
war, and having no proven facts, only the television, most people would believe
it.
Above and behind the prisoners is a fire burning, the power source of
the shadows. This is any institution supporting the men who deceive us. The
government is supporting George Bush, and other politicians; it is the source of
the ideas that are pushed upon us.
The shadows on the wall are what the
prisoners mistake for truth, reality, here in this world it is the actual ideas
that the men advance on us. Going to war is a shadow we mistake for truth, and
justice. Are we truly just in reacting with the actions we did, is “eye for an
eye, tooth for a tooth” still relevant today? Most don’t question this; they
instead accept it as it is given to them.
Plato describes the Good as having
power, energy, just as the sun has the power to warm our skin. He sees the Good
as the source of beauty, right, reason, and truth. The Good is courage and
strength, values that provide dependable ground for moral conduct. In this world
of shadows, the Good we experience is too a shadow of the true Good. We must
break free from the chains of this world to experience the true ideals of the
Good.
Plato’s cave is an allegory of the human condition: each of us a
prisoner, until we can break free. We perceive reality through imperfect eyes,
accepting this distorted illusion of reality without question. Accordingly, to
break free, we must open our eyes and see the truth about the world around us.
The truth is that we are prisoners of our own beliefs. The major elements Plato
uses to tell the Allegory of the Cave can be represented in today’s
civilization.
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