I was thinking about the Plato reading later after we had talked about it in class and thought of an explanation for whats going on. It is a metaphor for growing up in a culture (the cave) and being blinded by it. Then about leaving the cave (or your neighborhood/culture) and seeing the world as a whole.
One man leaves and sees an overwhelming amount of the world and then he feels truly enlightened, like he has seen all there is to see. He feels he knows the meaning of life, people, the world. He then starts to teach others, he is "all knowing" so in his mind, he is fit to teach others. Then he goes back to the cave/neighborhood and he knows nothing, he has forgotten what it is to look at the world from different perspectives.
Another man leaves the cave and studies all sorts of worldly things but also he just observes and takes in what he sees. But he soon realizes that the more he sees the less he knows and he is humbled, and he is wise. He should be the teacher as he will teach them that there is always more to learn.
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
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Mary:
ReplyDeleteI think you've taken Plato's Cave and reinterpreted it from a 21st century culture studies perspective.
I haven't studies Greek philosophy, but my understanding of their (Socrates/Plato) approach is that they believed there is an absolute ideal truth out there that is only accessible to those who are able to break out of the illusions of everyday existence (and perception).