The_Anti-Spelunker__Escaping_Plato's_Cave_in_the_21st_Century

Name Prof's Name Class Date The Anti-Spelunker: Escaping Plato's Cave in the 21st Century What causes a shadow to appear' Even a child can answer a question as simple as this. A light source is being blocked by an opaque object creating a distorted shape of said object where the light would normally be. Suppose we didn't understand the concept of the shadow. How would we explain it' Would we look for the answers ourselves or would we accept conclusions provided by an authoritative source' If the latter, how qualified and trustworthy are our figures of authority' These are extremely difficult questions, but fortunately, the Greek philosopher Plato made them a bit easier to swallow with his Allegory of the Cave. It expresses the importance of critical thinking in a society where “truth,” proposed by figures of power, is passively and ignorantly accepted rather than logically analyzed and questioned. Plato's Cave goes back about 2,300 years, but its message is still as relevant now as it was then, if not more. We will look at a few examples and comparisons that link this age-old tale to modern times, some of the possible and potential threats to reason, and what we can do to rediscover our natural curiosities and view our reality from different perspectives. In Ancient Greece, the great philosopher Socrates was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for “corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens.” As a student of Socrates, Plato knew the truth: the lawmakers of Athens were deathly terrified of freethinking, for that posed a threat to their power. Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a perfect analogy for Socrates and his trials. In summation, the cave is filled with people imprisoned and shackled in such a way that the only thing they can see is the wall in front of them. Behind them is a small walkway and a fire that casts a bright light upon the wall. Unbeknown to the prisoners, there are people behind them casting shadows on the wall. To the prisoners, these shadows are all that is reality. They know nothing else. Mysteriously, a prisoner manages to free himself and exit the cave. Upon his arrival to the outside world, the once prisoner is able to see the world as it really is. He is then able to understand what shadows are and how shadows are formed. Excited to share the news with his brethren, he returns to the cave with excellent news. The prisoners, in a fit of ignorance and fear, kill him for reasons of heresy and blasphemy. Metaphorically, the same thing happened to Socrates. He provided a different perspective and was murdered for it. The same metaphor can be used to explain our current state of anti-intellectualism. We have our own caves of false reality. The mass media is the number one culprit. Now, the shadow casters transmit visual and audible imagery into the caves of innocent people to create a new reality for those that surrender to its lullabies. Television alone is overrun with shepherds informing the flocks of the nation on how to live, who to be, what to say, and what to think by means of sensationalism. The audience is subjected to the soothing and well-written speeches performed by puppets of the business interests with all the power and money and can later reenact those same illogical canned responses instead of properly analyzing the information beforehand. As soon as people have their fill with the “news,” they can take comfort in all the mindless entertainment designed to distract the audience from truly important matters. Unfortunately, it works. Instead of asking questions as to why our economic institutions are failing, people would rather discuss the voting of hackneyed “talent” on American Idol. Instead of providing alternatives to our overcrowded prison system, the masses want to keep updated on the happenings of guido scum on Jersey Shore. One thing you'll never see on television is someone providing positive insight on how we can properly grow, both socially and intellectually. That goes against the interests of the “Big Six,” a name given to the six companies that literally own the media on every possible front (television, radio, print, etc.). A happy, comfortable, and docile herd is easier to manage than a group of reasonable and intelligent people. Radio and the press is no different. The media as a whole uses the concept of “standards and practices” as an attempt to cover their endless trails of hypocrisy and dishonesty, but I would personally like to know what “standards” are being “practiced” when programs are interrupted by commercials for beer and cars back to back (“Drink this, drive that, go back to bed.”), which leads me to my next opponent. Advertising is by far one of the most useless and evil components of influence that spreads like a virus throughout the media. There is no rational explanation for why it exists. Every day, millions of happy consumers are bombarded with the commonplace greedy rhetoric: Come buy our products that you don't need and that don't work with money you don't have so that we, the rich and fat businessmen, can get even richer and fatter. When these leeches are too exhausted from peddling their wares, they spend their commercial time misinforming the public with even more propaganda on top of our regularly scheduled programs in order to maintain control over the weak. One of the most infamous perpetrators is the anti-drug movement. They'll say that marijuana ruins lives in one commercial and glorify the use of alcohol in the next. It's perfectly acceptable to drink your drug as long as you stay away from those other drugs that aren't taxed like alcohol. Unfortunately, reason has more enemies than the media alone. Religion has had its cold hands wrapped around the throat of logic for thousands of years. Much longer after the days of Plato, the Catholic Church began its brutal takeover with sword in hand and misinformation in mouth. Today, it's much less bloody, but some of the same tactics are still being used. Instead of killing someone for believing differently, religious morals are still being pushed for legislation, even though religion takes in billions of dollars each year and pays no taxes. Idealistically, it's the exact same concept. Believe or die. Follow us or be removed from society. Ironically, religion always carries a flag of peace when their message is quite clear: eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love. Religion utilizes fear to convince people to give up their free will and become slaves to an invisible deity when realistically, they become slaves to the institution itself. So, with all the corruption from the media and religion, to whom should we go' Who can guide us' If your answer was “authority,” I must ask you to remember who it was that sentenced Socrates to death by hemlock poisoning in the first place. You see, there's a pattern that's slowly emerging. Humans with the power and money always want more power and money. The only way to accomplish that goal is to keep the people under you smart enough to do your bidding, but dumb enough to never question anything you say. Give the public illusions of choice. Make them think that the decisions they make have an effect. Paper or plastic' Smoking or non-smoking' Democrat or Republican' With us or with the terrorists' Isn't it odd how a reasonable solution is never made publicly obvious by these powerful entities' Instead, when something so simple and logical is put on the table, it is immediately shot down by fearmongers of the media, religion, and authority. It's easy for someone of power to write something off as a fabrication. It could even be an argument against my beliefs. It doesn't take a conspiracy nut to realize that those with power crave it eternally and will do whatever it takes to keep it. Power requires slavery. For one to exist, you must have the other. Yin and yang. It's obvious that this concept of anti-reason did not die with the antiquity of Ancient Greece. The same could be said about the message of Plato's Cave. The powerful have always attempted to control the people by any means necessary. Today is no different other than the methods of achievement. The media, religion, and authority keep us in the dark and force us to see their perspective of reality. There is no right way to live. We're animals. We must use what we have. So here's the final question. How do we, as human beings, escape the cave' Simple: by thinking philosophically. We must put ourselves in states of chaotic open-mindedness, confused vulnerability, and childlike wonder. We must think for ourselves and use our own insight and reasoning to form our opinions and beliefs without the interference of other sources. We must admit that we do not have all of the answers, that we may never realize them, and that there is nothing wrong with not knowing. We must evolve ideas and move forward instead of recycling old and tired concepts only to be shackled in place. We must rise above the banality and mediocrity that is consistently being shoved down our throats in order to keep us comfortable and ignorant. Above all, we must question. Only then will we truly know where the shadows are coming from.