But was there really any point in leaving the cave? Maybe we should have thought like Cypher from The (first) Matrix, who claimed that "ignorance is bliss". Perhaps the representatives of the so-called Dark Enlightenment are actually right?
Cypher chose the steak knowing it wasn't real, and then spent the rest of his life betraying his friends, living in paranoia, and being murdered before he could enjoy a single bite of it. That's not a great advertisement for ignorance as bliss.
The "Dark Enlightenment" argument is also self-defeating: the moment you articulate that ignorance is preferable, you've already left the cave. You can't unknow what you know :-). The prisoners who stayed seated simply never had the option to choose at all.
Plato's point wasn't that leaving the cave is pleasant. It's painful, disorienting, and socially costly, yes, he was quite clear about that. His point was that it's the only honest way to live and has huge benefits in terms of understanding reality, yourself, your psyche and even developing what others would see as "super powers". Whether that's worth it is a question each person has to answer for themselves. But romanticising the chains as freedom is a very old trick, and it tends to serve whoever is carrying the puppets :-)
Hii, so im new to this whole philosophy thing,so im just going to share what ive learned.
Plato had a concept called the Allegory of the Caves. Its described by a group of prisoners chained together, and a source of light behind them. This makes them to see shadows cast by whatever is in front of the light source, and notuing else. Because the prisoners have been in this state for too long, the shadows become their reality. The prisobers represent those who have not been able to reach enlightenment, chained to beliefs that may not be the reality.
For a prisoner to escape, a philosopher or teacher must break them out. When the prisoner escapes the cave and sees the outside world, the intensity of light makes him painful to see. The more the prisoner adjusts to the light, as well as what the outside world has to offer, he becomes wiser, as well as angrier, because the truth was hidden from him and other prisoners for so long. The pain represents the struggles one makes to reach enlightenment, and how hard it mush be to let go of certain beliefs to form new ones.
Plato also had a concept he called Theory of Forms. As humans, we can only see abstract qualities in tangible things. The essay described it as being able to see beautiful things but not Beauty itself, or viewing actions as just, but not being able to see Justice itself. The instance of "Beauty" or "Justice" in this example is what Plato called a Form, the view of an abstract quality in its "true" or "raw" state.
Back to the story, when the ex prisoner chooses to go back and tell his former fellow prisoners what he has discovered, the darkness of the cave confuses him, after all, he hadnt been in the dark for a long time. That confusion leads the other prisoners to believe that he is foolish, and wrong in his insight. Plato says that the prisoners woukd be driven to kill or harm the ex prisoner, and a real life example of this was how Socrates was killed by the very people he hoped to elighten.
There are three things one must do to view the Form of something
1. Cave audit: in the span of a week, take note of all your beliefs you accepted without scrutinizing. Also take note of their sources. This is basically identifying the 'caves' you currently reside in
2. Platonic Contemplation: take a concept, for instance love, and write down everything you know about it, every belief you have concerning it, and write its main theme, basically what is standard in all your beliefs of this certain thing.
3. Philosopher's Walk: find someone who has different fundamental beliefs from you and have an itellectual conversation with them. Ask open ended questions, and aim to understand their own thoughts on the subject. Keep an open mind, and aim to learn from them instead of argue with them.
This is all i learnt from the essay, if you've read up to this point, thanks 💋💋💋💋 and if there's something you think im wrong in, tell me.
Welcome to philosophy, Chii! You've understood it beautifully and honestly, better than many who've studied it for years.
Your summary of the Allegory, the Theory of Forms, and the return of the freed prisoner is accurate and clearly expressed. The connection you drew between the prisoner's anger upon seeing the light and the pain of letting go of long-held beliefs explains that emotional dimension and it is something many readers miss entirely.
And you ended with exactly the right takeaway: the three practices are the actual work of leaving the cave. Keep asking questions :-)
Unfortunately, I have to agree with you… It’s madness — an upside-down world filled with far too much rubbish information, making it almost impossible for the average person to tell what is true and what isn’t. But let's not give up hope! The fact that you are writing this comment is encouraging for many.
Yes, however the only antidote to brainwashing is a robust critical faculty, and this is what they first target in families and schools.
The only survivors though, will paradoxically have to court a state of hypervigilant paranoia, thereby ensuring that sanity will rarely prevail in a world policed by psychiatrists.
The job of the Media is to ensure no one escapes from the Cave.
Plato's Cave would be the smartphone of today... https://www.truthandprosperity.com/p/allegory-of-the-smart-phone?r=71ga9g
But was there really any point in leaving the cave? Maybe we should have thought like Cypher from The (first) Matrix, who claimed that "ignorance is bliss". Perhaps the representatives of the so-called Dark Enlightenment are actually right?
Cypher chose the steak knowing it wasn't real, and then spent the rest of his life betraying his friends, living in paranoia, and being murdered before he could enjoy a single bite of it. That's not a great advertisement for ignorance as bliss.
The "Dark Enlightenment" argument is also self-defeating: the moment you articulate that ignorance is preferable, you've already left the cave. You can't unknow what you know :-). The prisoners who stayed seated simply never had the option to choose at all.
Plato's point wasn't that leaving the cave is pleasant. It's painful, disorienting, and socially costly, yes, he was quite clear about that. His point was that it's the only honest way to live and has huge benefits in terms of understanding reality, yourself, your psyche and even developing what others would see as "super powers". Whether that's worth it is a question each person has to answer for themselves. But romanticising the chains as freedom is a very old trick, and it tends to serve whoever is carrying the puppets :-)
Hii, so im new to this whole philosophy thing,so im just going to share what ive learned.
Plato had a concept called the Allegory of the Caves. Its described by a group of prisoners chained together, and a source of light behind them. This makes them to see shadows cast by whatever is in front of the light source, and notuing else. Because the prisoners have been in this state for too long, the shadows become their reality. The prisobers represent those who have not been able to reach enlightenment, chained to beliefs that may not be the reality.
For a prisoner to escape, a philosopher or teacher must break them out. When the prisoner escapes the cave and sees the outside world, the intensity of light makes him painful to see. The more the prisoner adjusts to the light, as well as what the outside world has to offer, he becomes wiser, as well as angrier, because the truth was hidden from him and other prisoners for so long. The pain represents the struggles one makes to reach enlightenment, and how hard it mush be to let go of certain beliefs to form new ones.
Plato also had a concept he called Theory of Forms. As humans, we can only see abstract qualities in tangible things. The essay described it as being able to see beautiful things but not Beauty itself, or viewing actions as just, but not being able to see Justice itself. The instance of "Beauty" or "Justice" in this example is what Plato called a Form, the view of an abstract quality in its "true" or "raw" state.
Back to the story, when the ex prisoner chooses to go back and tell his former fellow prisoners what he has discovered, the darkness of the cave confuses him, after all, he hadnt been in the dark for a long time. That confusion leads the other prisoners to believe that he is foolish, and wrong in his insight. Plato says that the prisoners woukd be driven to kill or harm the ex prisoner, and a real life example of this was how Socrates was killed by the very people he hoped to elighten.
There are three things one must do to view the Form of something
1. Cave audit: in the span of a week, take note of all your beliefs you accepted without scrutinizing. Also take note of their sources. This is basically identifying the 'caves' you currently reside in
2. Platonic Contemplation: take a concept, for instance love, and write down everything you know about it, every belief you have concerning it, and write its main theme, basically what is standard in all your beliefs of this certain thing.
3. Philosopher's Walk: find someone who has different fundamental beliefs from you and have an itellectual conversation with them. Ask open ended questions, and aim to understand their own thoughts on the subject. Keep an open mind, and aim to learn from them instead of argue with them.
This is all i learnt from the essay, if you've read up to this point, thanks 💋💋💋💋 and if there's something you think im wrong in, tell me.
Thanks again😁
Welcome to philosophy, Chii! You've understood it beautifully and honestly, better than many who've studied it for years.
Your summary of the Allegory, the Theory of Forms, and the return of the freed prisoner is accurate and clearly expressed. The connection you drew between the prisoner's anger upon seeing the light and the pain of letting go of long-held beliefs explains that emotional dimension and it is something many readers miss entirely.
And you ended with exactly the right takeaway: the three practices are the actual work of leaving the cave. Keep asking questions :-)
Thank you so much Doc 😁😁😁💋💋 i appreciate the feedback
Ancient wisdom might not be all it’s cracked up to be.
https://schrodingerschicken.substack.com/p/theyre-bounty-soft?r=6hnh8x
Unfortunately, I have to agree with you… It’s madness — an upside-down world filled with far too much rubbish information, making it almost impossible for the average person to tell what is true and what isn’t. But let's not give up hope! The fact that you are writing this comment is encouraging for many.
Yes, however the only antidote to brainwashing is a robust critical faculty, and this is what they first target in families and schools.
The only survivors though, will paradoxically have to court a state of hypervigilant paranoia, thereby ensuring that sanity will rarely prevail in a world policed by psychiatrists.
Well aren't you clever
https://marlowe1.substack.com/p/the-albino-dies-by-tim-lieder-fiction?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=sllf3