Monday, September 24, 2018
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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Plato's allegory of the cave is essentially an argument for the pursuit of knowledge or more specifically, his theory of the Forms. He claims that everyone starts off with "their legs and necks in bonds so that they are fixed, seeing only in front of them, unable to turn their heads. Their light is from a fire behind them…[They] see along this wall human beings carrying all sorts of artifacts" (514a-515a). The cave and the people inside represents human misunderstandings of knowledge. What this means is that people are born only seeing the reflection of these objects and not actually seeing these objects in their true forms, hence, they do not truly understand anything. Humans are born ignorant and are unable to distinguish reality because all they know is what was provided by the shadows. Eventually, one of these chained prisoners escaped and saw the real world. What they saw first was their own reflection, other objects, and finally, the sun. By observing these objects in the real world, this prisoner is able to grasp the ideas between material objects and forms. For example, the sun represents knowledge because it shines a light on objects, which causes it to be visible. We can now see both the physical object and its shadow, which means we can understand this object overall. The outside of the cave represents knowledge since the sun is shining on everything and the prisoner who escaped represents the philosopher. Plato then goes on to explain how this is actually a problem for philosophers because they are the only ones able to interpret the truth, but are unable to be accepted by the prisoners back in the cave. The prisoners are comfortable with what they understand so far and to have a philosopher explain this world outside the cave is absurd. The philosopher goal is to educate and provide benefits to all the people, but if these people do not accept his ideas, then it is useless. I think what Plato is trying to say is the remain skeptical if you want. However, if you can find a way to free yourself from ignorance, then you should definitely take the opportunity to become a philosopher, but also know the consequences that come with it.
ReplyDeleteThrough the allegory of the cave, Plato claims that the majority of humans are either unable or unwilling to seek true knowledge and wisdom in order to improve their lives. The term “unable” can be deemed reasonable. Our society is built so that what we see and hear is what we know. In today’s world, the ordinary population is subject to only seeing the shadows of the real object, just like the prisoners in the cave. The media portrays information subjectively, based on opinion, and often censors the true reality of an event. We essentially have a very limited epistemic horizon, as we only see the shadows of what is represented by the internet or television channels. We are encouraged to believe that the provided information is the whole truth, since we rarely have another source stating otherwise and are so far from personally experiencing the event. The term “unwilling” can be agreed upon only to a certain extent. It is true that individuals are sometimes unwilling to seek the truth, because they are afraid of being wrong. They are also afraid to experience the discomfort and confusion that the truth often brings. It is also reasonable that people who have been subject to a certain belief, such as a religious belief, for long enough are more likely to be unwilling to change their perspective. They have considered this perception as a reality for too long; hence, it is deeply embedded in their mind. However, humanity has a long history of being motivated to seek knowledge, such as through scientific research or philosophy. Here, Plato underestimates the degree of curiosity that is embedded in human nature. It is this curiosity that leads many people, not just a few to go outside of the cave, from the visual realm into the intelligence realm. It is this curiosity that leads many to find the third dimension of the shadow they see, the complete information and truth. In this sense, humans are not always “unwilling” to inquire into the depths of true knowledge.
ReplyDeletePlato's allegory of the cave is an extremely interesting thought experiment, and may be one of the most famous ever. In Plato's allegory, a group of people had been chained, forced to face shadows their entire life since birth, having no knowledge of the outside world. Occasionally people pass by a fire that cast shadows on the wall, which the prisoners associated the sounds with shadow on the wall. One day, a prisoner escapes, and his world view changes once he sees the sun, where his reality was that it was not shadows that produced the sounds, but the actual trees and wind itself. This allegory is a representation of our everyday lives, as our own reality is looking at shadows every day. Our mathematics, science, and other ways of exploring the world would be like associating the sound of the clacking in front of the fire with the shadows on the wall, drawing the conclusion that the shadows are responsible for making the noise. Plato argues that the philosopher that had escaped, and knows what is real; and that it is his job to describe the real world to those that are ignorant. As we have limited vision of what is really real, Philosophers are able to identify and interpret the truth. This is really interesting because Plato wants us readers to believe that the average person is born into a world of deceit, and it is our goal to find out the truth. Plato believes that it is possible for a philosopher who has seen the truth in order to bring everyone else into the light. I absolutely believe this is true, but the question would be, what is really true? This allegory made me question whether truth is relative or not, perhaps the truth is something that everyone believes, but not necessarily what is reality. However, this point is false, as once upon a time it was generally accepted that the universe revolved around the earth, but the truth was at last uncovered. But does Plato really know the truth, even though he was a philosopher? I don't believe Plato really knew all the truth, but at least he was open minded. Plato's knowledge really came into play when discussing about a circle. Things we see as a circle really is not a circle, but has a circular shape. Our definition of reality seems to be skewed, and we probably require a philosopher to uncover the truth. But, in the end, even if the truth is unveiled, it is just another thing for us students to study in school, so I am not really looking forward to new scientific revolutions.
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