Mind Blown

Today we watched a video on one of Plato's writings that was very confusing at first. There were four men tied down in a cave and had their head locked forward so they couldn't see anything but what was in front of them. Then a fire was burned behind them and shadows were shown on the wall in front of them using metal shapes. The four men sitting there were watching the shadows with no intent of leaving or escaping; completely mesmerized. One of the men was unchained and brought up to the sunlight were he was blinded by the sun's brightness. By this he was enlightened and saw that everyone had a purpose in the world outside of the cave. He then returned to the cave to the other three men and was laughed at for not being able to see the shadows he used to see. He could not see them because he had been enlightened by the sun and decided to leave their laughter in the cave and never return. It hit me at the end of this video that it was an extraordinary allegory for many different situations. One that I thought of was Socrates considering Plato was taught by him. Socrates was symbolized by the enlightened men and was laughed at or mocked by others for his philosophy ways. He was enlighten by asking questions and not staying locked under the shadows of authority. I was fascinated by this and realized that Plato could have also predicted the future of television and social media attentions. We sit locked down in front of the television with no intent of leaving and laugh and mock people for not watching the same shows as us. We watched reality television shows even though they are the exact opposite. We question people who don't indulge in this activity even though it is they who have the advantage. They are exploring the world and being enlightened instead of losing IQ points every time Kim Kardashian says literally on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. This video made me realize that I really need to question my ways of entertainment or even my figures of authority. We are being manipulated every day of our lives just like the illusion of the shadows in the video and we have no intent of moving just as the other three men had. Not all manipulation is bad but we need to realize that this happens on a day to day basis. I don't want to be one of the three men; I want to explore life around me and be one of the enlightened people of Socrates' teachings.