Marriage and PregnancyIllusions - How Brainwashed Are We?
Plato’s Cave allegory was explained to me in a casual conversation with a dear friend many years ago. It was one of the most thought provoking discussions I can remember. I still find myself referring back to it when I become caught up with life’s illusions. Whenever I think about it, I find myself delving deeper and deeper into more questions and more comparisons.
Basically it is about perception, but rather than get into the academic side of things, I will refer back to my friend’s casual description for those people who may be unfamiliar with the story.
There are a group of men dwelling in a cave who have been chained together by their legs and necks since childhood. They have been in the same spot the entire time and cannot turn their heads: they can only look forward at the cave wall. They do not seem to have seen anything of themselves or of the others.
Behind the men is the cave entrance, which lets in light. Between the cave entrance and the men there is a fire burning, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a low wall. From behind the wall, there is another group of men who are free and can move and speak. By holding up shapes and images, they are able to cast shadows on the wall in front of the prisoners - like puppeteers.
The prisoners appear to accept this situation and seem content to accept the shadows on the wall as the totality of their reality.
When one man breaks free and manages to stand up and turn around, we are asked to imagine what must have gone through his mind as he was confronted with what he saw.
We might first wonder at the pain his body would experience in standing for the first time, and the blinding light’s effect on his vision. Would he then run towards the puppeteers in great excitement, wanting to see and know more, or would he first turn back and set the other prisoners free.
What would be the response and the reaction of the other prisoners? It is easy to assume they would be excited and grateful at being liberated but, would they? We find ourselves asking how we might feel about someone telling us our entire existence and belief system was nothing more than an illusion.
The most interesting part of this story, for me, is in considering that not only does the freed man have to comprehend that his perception of reality was nothing more than shadows, but he also has to try and comprehend and accept that the fire, the shapes and the men were the real reality. Even if he managed to get his head around all of this, we are then left to imagine how he copes when he sees the cave’s entrance, and his reaction when he discovers that outside the cave there is yet another reality.
If he did manage to get this far, and was able to comprehend everything outside the cave, we would then have to assume that he would also have to grasp such things as the sun, moon and stars. We might also conclude, that if he were able to make sense of his past and his present, then he would also be compelled to question his future.
Is it possible that the other prisoners would have been so threatened by these revelations that they may have become hostile or violent; would they fight to hold on to the security of the world they knew?
Perhaps, they might group together and use peer pressure to convince the freed prisoner to sit back down and forget what he had discovered. If this were the case, would they be forever tormented by knowing the truth?
Would the prisoners be left wondering why they had never tried to get free before, or would they wonder why they had never even thought to question their reality.
This story leaves us with many questions when we place ourselves in the position of the liberated prisoner. In today’s world, with all of our knowledge, technology and sophistication, we still find ourselves wondering about our perceptions of our reality.
Some people are happy and content to accept things as they appear to be. Others sense that there is much more and move slowly, safely and steadily through changes. Of course, there are those who fight to hang on to their beliefs, while others actively seek greater understanding.
Although the Cave Allegory is much more complex than I have illustrated here, it should at least serve as a great example of perception of reality in today’s world. We like to believe that we are far too evolved and intelligent to be compared with the cave dwellers, but are we?
If we put ourselves in the position of the prisoners, our initial response is that we would rejoice in being freed. On deeper reflection, we might recall many times in our lives in which we fiercely resisted change. I’m sure we have all been involved in petty but passionate arguments in which we insisted we were right. Haven’t we all stayed in jobs, relationships and situations which were obviously soul destroying? Often, we sense that we are more than we understand and that life is greater than our personal experience. Something is missing and we are vaguely uncomfortable or perhaps deeply insecure.
We want more; we believe there is more and we long for more. But we do not want to let go of what is familiar and comfortable. We don’t like big or sudden changes and we don’t like to accept that we may have been wrong.
It might seem quite absurd that people would allow themselves to be tied up and imprisoned without question or resistance. It’s even more ridiculous to believe that shadows on a wall would be accepted as reality. But is it? Look up now and you might notice a television set in the corner of your room. It might be interesting to ask yourself how much of your belief system has come from mass media. Does television influence reality or does reality influence what is on television.
Our perception of reality is very rarely based on our own thoughts and experiences. Media is an extremely powerful influence, as are culture, religion and education. These are not bad things and serve as excellent foundations, but have we lost our ability to think for ourselves.
To a large degree, our belief system is determined by geographical location. Social norms are where we find our comparisons, and most of us mould ourselves to fit our environment. Most people do not choose a religious belief, nor do many bother to explore religion outside their own denomination. Often when they do, it is only to arm themselves with an argument to prove the others wrong. The same can be said about education, social skills, ethics, food, dress and language. We all like to believe that we can think for ourselves, but the truth is, that most of us have been fully programmed before we enter adulthood.
In pondering our own perceptions of ourselves or our experiences, we can compare ourselves to the prisoner in the cave. Much of our understanding serves us well, but it’s not until we question our belief system that we begin to expose the illusions and then the illusions beyond those illusions.
Some people appear to function very well within their given environment and may feel no desire or need to question it. Most of us have mastered the art of looking like we fit. In today’s world, we compare ourselves to others within our environment, and consider ourselves and our lives to be normal or successful, based on the status quo.
Many people feel that they don’t measure up and experience great distress. Some people think they look good but feel that they are faking it. These days, we seem to hold material issues in very high regard, and many judgements about a person’s value have little to do with the person at all, but rather the wealth, fame and career status of the person. We also seem to be somewhat impressed with celebrities or physically attractive people. Now, tell me that’s not shadows on the wall!
Life today is materialistic and very, very fast. With so much emphasis on earning money, we find ourselves running faster and faster, just to stay in one place. We feel that we are on a treadmill and someone else has the controls. We are ever conscious of the fact that just one wrong step and down we’ll go, face down and flung across the room in a heap.
At some point, we must ask ourselves who is controlling our lives, what exactly is my life, who or what am I, and what does it all mean. Well, I think that you have just met the puppeteers! You can swallow the questions and go back to your place in the line, or you can move towards the light.
Copyright Sonya Green