Philosophy
October 24, 2005
Book VII The Cave
Can we ever know the difference between what is true and the image of what we perceive to be true? The truth is never something that we can grasp without effort; otherwise, it wouldn?t be the truth because in reality we must search for virtue. Truth does not come to us nor will it ever. We must comprehend the absolute meaning of truth by looking for it. However, if we are never aware of our misguided interpretations of the perceived truth we will never be able to understand the light, as Plato submits to. This leads us to think that what we are in a lifelong pursuit of is something that is beyond the capacity of the mind.
We are living in a society in which the search for absolute truth is useless. Within the cave that we are living in today in which we call home, the search for absolute truth has been twisted by its connections to wealth and power. It is even possible to blame the entire capitalist, but really any society, as the largest chain holding us within the cave. If it weren?t for society wouldn?t everyone dedicate their entire lives to the search for absolute truth? Because, according to Socrates, those that have stepped outside of the cave and seen the sun will be obligated to go back into the cave to free the others. If society was not blinded by other meaningless goals then wouldn?t we as a society be able to reach the light?
In the ideal society everyone would be looking for the exit to the cave. And, if enough people reach the exit, wouldn?t we have just solved the problem of the cave? Once there are enough people outside the cave living under absolute truth it would be possible to start a society anew. And the children born into the light would then be what? If all these preceding steps were taken what would be next for the society? Would it be able to function in this way? Eventually the society would grow.
Growth and expansion is what holds any organism in the universe back from living out its years under ultimate truth. This is seen as we examine the human race. It all had to start out somewhere, and for this exorcise we will imagine that all of a sudden there were two humans. These humans would not have to grow up under the shackles of society or in a dark cave. No, they would be living under the sun bathing in the ecstasy that consumes every living moment.
Now comes the bad part. In order for the human race to survive the couple must have children. And thus begins the formation of the cave. Because as soon as the first child is born the parents will have some influence over how the child perceives the world. Just imagine this process multiplied over the entire span of human life on the planet earth. It is nearly impossible at this point to see the light. We have been influenced by so many different people that we are not even in a cave; instead, we are living in a bottomless abyss from which there is no escape. Humans and all life in the universe is self-destructive in this way.
Just imagine, we have gone from living directly under the light where absolute reality was at our very fingertips; all the way to the point of no return, where society has dug a hole so big that even at the moment we are burning fossil fuels and using up our resources in order to pollute the atmosphere therefore allowing for less and less sunlight to reach our eyes. We are slowly, but at an increasing rate, building the cave that will inevitably be the doom of our entire race.
In order to bring this ranting a little more back to Plato and the Republic. According to Plato, Socrates held mathematics in the highest regard. I would just like to point out the arguably the very best mathematicians of our day our working under NASA and are the closest to, through their use of mathematics, reaching ultimate truth; if by definition ultimate truth is the ability to see sunlight, and achieve this state of ultimate reality.
In conclusion, according to the Allegory of the Cave and the philosophy of Plato and Socrates, all life is self-destructive with a very good example being the human race. To look beyond this, for those who are trying to climb up the walls of the hole we have dug ourselves into, your attempts are futile; if you really wanted to save the earth and the other organisms, you would eliminate the virus: take out the entire human population and hope that when the next virus comes around that they will be so smart.
- The Realization Of The Galaxy
Nick LaClair Book Seven of The Republic of Plato clearly illustrates the classic metaphor of someone being blinded from reality, and then revealed to a unfamiliar new world. We see this as the subjects have lived in the cave their entire life, completely...
- The Awakening, By Kate Chopin- Not Just A Feminist Masterpiece
The allegory of the cave is reflected in many media outlets, from fiction novels to the next blockbuster hit. The idea behind the allegory of the cave is a universal theme that comes up often in nearly all societies. Certainly Plato was not the first...
- The Allegory Of Truman
The Allegory of the Cave Travis Larkin Book VII outlines the most famous metaphor in the novel and philosophical writings in our human history. The allegory of the cave is this metaphor, it tells of a dark scene in which a group of people has been living...
- The Allegory Of The Bourne Identity
Continuing the discussion about education, Socrates begins telling the story of prisoners kept under a very specific set of conditions. These prisoners are kept shackled so that they may only face the wall of a dark cave that they are in, and all they...
- Trapped In Virtual Reality
Nick LaClair Book Seven of The Republic of Plato clearly illustrates the classic metaphor of someone being blinded from reality, and then revealed to a unfamiliar new world. We see this as the subjects have lived in the cave their entire life, completely...
Philosophy
Self-Destructive the Human Race is
October 24, 2005
Book VII The Cave
Can we ever know the difference between what is true and the image of what we perceive to be true? The truth is never something that we can grasp without effort; otherwise, it wouldn?t be the truth because in reality we must search for virtue. Truth does not come to us nor will it ever. We must comprehend the absolute meaning of truth by looking for it. However, if we are never aware of our misguided interpretations of the perceived truth we will never be able to understand the light, as Plato submits to. This leads us to think that what we are in a lifelong pursuit of is something that is beyond the capacity of the mind.
We are living in a society in which the search for absolute truth is useless. Within the cave that we are living in today in which we call home, the search for absolute truth has been twisted by its connections to wealth and power. It is even possible to blame the entire capitalist, but really any society, as the largest chain holding us within the cave. If it weren?t for society wouldn?t everyone dedicate their entire lives to the search for absolute truth? Because, according to Socrates, those that have stepped outside of the cave and seen the sun will be obligated to go back into the cave to free the others. If society was not blinded by other meaningless goals then wouldn?t we as a society be able to reach the light?
In the ideal society everyone would be looking for the exit to the cave. And, if enough people reach the exit, wouldn?t we have just solved the problem of the cave? Once there are enough people outside the cave living under absolute truth it would be possible to start a society anew. And the children born into the light would then be what? If all these preceding steps were taken what would be next for the society? Would it be able to function in this way? Eventually the society would grow.
Growth and expansion is what holds any organism in the universe back from living out its years under ultimate truth. This is seen as we examine the human race. It all had to start out somewhere, and for this exorcise we will imagine that all of a sudden there were two humans. These humans would not have to grow up under the shackles of society or in a dark cave. No, they would be living under the sun bathing in the ecstasy that consumes every living moment.
Now comes the bad part. In order for the human race to survive the couple must have children. And thus begins the formation of the cave. Because as soon as the first child is born the parents will have some influence over how the child perceives the world. Just imagine this process multiplied over the entire span of human life on the planet earth. It is nearly impossible at this point to see the light. We have been influenced by so many different people that we are not even in a cave; instead, we are living in a bottomless abyss from which there is no escape. Humans and all life in the universe is self-destructive in this way.
Just imagine, we have gone from living directly under the light where absolute reality was at our very fingertips; all the way to the point of no return, where society has dug a hole so big that even at the moment we are burning fossil fuels and using up our resources in order to pollute the atmosphere therefore allowing for less and less sunlight to reach our eyes. We are slowly, but at an increasing rate, building the cave that will inevitably be the doom of our entire race.
In order to bring this ranting a little more back to Plato and the Republic. According to Plato, Socrates held mathematics in the highest regard. I would just like to point out the arguably the very best mathematicians of our day our working under NASA and are the closest to, through their use of mathematics, reaching ultimate truth; if by definition ultimate truth is the ability to see sunlight, and achieve this state of ultimate reality.
In conclusion, according to the Allegory of the Cave and the philosophy of Plato and Socrates, all life is self-destructive with a very good example being the human race. To look beyond this, for those who are trying to climb up the walls of the hole we have dug ourselves into, your attempts are futile; if you really wanted to save the earth and the other organisms, you would eliminate the virus: take out the entire human population and hope that when the next virus comes around that they will be so smart.
- The Realization Of The Galaxy
Nick LaClair Book Seven of The Republic of Plato clearly illustrates the classic metaphor of someone being blinded from reality, and then revealed to a unfamiliar new world. We see this as the subjects have lived in the cave their entire life, completely...
- The Awakening, By Kate Chopin- Not Just A Feminist Masterpiece
The allegory of the cave is reflected in many media outlets, from fiction novels to the next blockbuster hit. The idea behind the allegory of the cave is a universal theme that comes up often in nearly all societies. Certainly Plato was not the first...
- The Allegory Of Truman
The Allegory of the Cave Travis Larkin Book VII outlines the most famous metaphor in the novel and philosophical writings in our human history. The allegory of the cave is this metaphor, it tells of a dark scene in which a group of people has been living...
- The Allegory Of The Bourne Identity
Continuing the discussion about education, Socrates begins telling the story of prisoners kept under a very specific set of conditions. These prisoners are kept shackled so that they may only face the wall of a dark cave that they are in, and all they...
- Trapped In Virtual Reality
Nick LaClair Book Seven of The Republic of Plato clearly illustrates the classic metaphor of someone being blinded from reality, and then revealed to a unfamiliar new world. We see this as the subjects have lived in the cave their entire life, completely...