This is a graded discussion: 20 points possible
POLI 330N Full Week 2 Quiz Co Assessment plus Discussions
As your text explains, Plato is considered the father of political science. Within The Republic, he presents his theories on the foundations of a perfect government. Rather than a theoretical examination of government, The Republic is written in story form, as the main character Socrates explores the ideal way to form a city.
A largely studied portion of The Republic deals with Plato’s cave allegory. The story goes something like this: You, as a person, find yourself within a cave, chained to the ground, facing a stone wall. You cannot stand, and all you know are the images that play out before you, which are the shadows cast by a light source from behind you. You cannot see behind you, but you know that there are others in the cave with you. This is the only state you have ever known. It is your only reality of the world. Plato goes on to explain that then one day, people come and remove your chains, and take you out of the cave. As you can imagine, you are scared and frightful, and thus fight these individuals as they drag you into this new setting. However, over time you learn to accept the larger image of the world around you and come to understand life outside of the cave. You then attempt to go back into the cave to free others.
This story was Plato’s attempt to explain the world around us. Just picture it: You are chained to the ground and all you can see in front of you is a cave wall. There is a light source behind you, which casts reflections on the wall.
What do you think you would think of these reflections? Could they represent family members? Or friends? What about a god?
Reality…framed by our perceptions and the “shadows on the cave wall”
As outlined in Plato’s attempt to explain how we perceive the world around us, our reality is framed by what we perceive it to be, i.e., the images on the cave wall cast in shadows. Just picture it” You are chained to the ground and all you can see in front of you is a cave wall. A light source of unknown origin is behind you which casts reflections on the wall.
What do you think you would think of these reflections? Could they represent family members? Our friends? What about a god?
In thinking back to our first week, does the political process drive our perception of reality?
Hello Professor and fellow classmates. Plato’s cave allegory within The Republic makes for interesting thought. It deals with human perception. It compares people who believe what is right in front of them as the truth, sensory knowledge, and other people who really do search for and see the truth. Plato sees the cave as people who believe in empirical knowledge, knowledge that is “based on observable evidence” (Roskin, 10/2013, p. 315). He believed that they are in a cave of misunderstanding. The shadows represent the evidence that these people have that enforces and provides truth to their empirical knowledge. The individual who was removed from their chains represents someone who seeks knowledge beyond what it is that they see in front of them. Once wisdom and truth are discovered, the individual attempts to go back into the cave and free the others by showing them the real truth.
In back to dealing with human perception, I would probably think these reflections were just what they were shown to be. I would take them at face value because I wouldn’t know any better. Whether or not I thought these images represented family, or friends or even a god, would greatly depend on what images were shown. I would probably be curious about whoever or whatever was showing these images and why they were showing them. I would want to know who the man behind the curtain was, so to speak.
I think the political process does drive our perception of reality because we watch and listen to what happens in the political process, which then in turn impacts the way we view our world and our opinion of it.
Reference:
Roskin, M. G., Cord, R. L., Medeiros, J. A., Jones, W. S. (10/2013). Political Science: An Introduction, 13th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781269724821
Professor and Class,
Kandice made a great point that Plato’s allegory deals with perception. Perception is reality. What I perceive is my reality, but the person standing next to me experiencing the same thing could have a totally different perspective. Their perspective is their reality, even though we are both experiencing the same thing in the same moment. In the cave Plato described, the wall in front of me is whatever I face every day. It is the life experiences, it is work, family, school, church, etc. Whatever is in front of my face or whatever my focus is on is what that wall represents. It is difficult to see past that wall when there is so much I am encountering at one time. The shadows on that wall are the people I come in contact with daily, the things I do everyday, or the obstacles I am faced with everyday. The light is just illuminating what I am perceiving as my reality. Anytime change happens, or there is a break in the mundane everyday life, it feels like something is pulling us away from the familiar into a new world. That new world is unfamiliar and can be quite scary when you do not know what to expect or know how it will affect you. Many times, we long for what was our “normal,” what was our routine, everyday life without any bumps in the road, so we attempt to go back in the cave to continue to live that way. On the other side of that, once we have experienced the new “norm” in life, we might go back to the cave to get those we have lived our lives with to give them the opportunity to experience something different, something better. Maybe this is why Plato wrote Republic. Both he and Aristotle were living in a time when Athens was falling apart and they looked for a way to experience something different, something better, then, in turn, bring their fellow countrymen with them into a better society (Roskin, 2014).
References:
Roskin, M. G., Cord, R. L., Medeiros, J. A., Jones, W. S. (2014). Political Science: An Introduction, 13th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781269724821
(1 like)
Leona:
Yes, perception is the reality. Your point of a person standing next to you and experiencing the same thing and they have it totally different in their mind. This is so real, we have been taught by our families, our teachers, and others and we see things as they have taught us or how we have understood them during this process. We do go back to our normal anytime things change so that we can better understand it.
Thank You.
Rory
Great post! I too believe that perception is your reality – what I perceive as scary, therefore my reality is that particular instance is scary, and I wouldn’t want to go through that again; whereas, you might perceive that exact situation as pleasant, and wouldn’t mind experiencing it again. I really like how you compared the shadows to the things that you encounter on a day-to-day basis, and the light is what illuminates your reality. Again, great post!
Kandice,
Great post, I agree with you and I appreciate how you interpreted the reading. I only wonder that if the person who was removed from the chains went back and try to free the others, what they would think of that individual? That individual is coming back from the unknown to share strange things that is against everything that they know. Would these caged people accept that individual back along with the things that the person is sharing? Or would they not believe what the person is saying?
Hello Professor and Class,
The questions in the discussion this week are very thought provoking. If I were to be chained to the floor with only the shadows on the wall to look at what would I think of them?
I’m not thinking much about them in terms of family or friends because I only know what is in front of me. I can hear but not see others inside the cave with me. Can a person survive, and will they even be able to communicate is a great question? If that is the only reality you know then your perceptions are shaped by those reflections without any outside influence. In our text we read that Plato was considered the founder of political science (Roskin, 2014 p. 21). We go on to learn that Plato and his student Aristotle were looking for a way to save the declining Athens (Roskin, 2014. P. 21). In Plato’s Republic he goes on to show ways of political theory and how those theories have helped shape the world today.
At any given time, we can turn on our television and our perceptions of the world, the way our President is running the country is all someone’s perception. People use their perceptions or views to shape others on a daily basis. The political process definitely drives our perception of reality. Hobbes looks at the world from a perspective of in the case of self-interest people would join together to form civilized societies (Roskin, p. 23) Hobbes goes on to say that societies were formed out of fear (Roskin. P. 23). To some extent I can agree that this probably happened that way. We look to belong to groups and band together. We seek law and order still today.
Thanks, A’lon
Source:
Roskin, M, Cord, R, Medeiros, J, & Jones, W. (2014). Political Science: An introduction (13th ed). Hoboken, N.J.: Pearson.
Hi A’lon. It was interesting to read what you wrote about Thomas Hobbes and his belief that society was formed out of fear. It was his own fear though that instigated this belief. According to Roskin, Hobbes “lived through the English Civil War and opposed its tumult for making individuals frightened and insecure” (Roskin, 10/2013, p. 23). This planted the seed for his fear and led to his philosophy on society forming out of fear. I must say that is quite understandable to think along those lines. I’m sure we’ve all wondered what it would be like if we didn’t have the society and government that we have today. It is the basis for many television shows on air today such as The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, and Revolution (which was canceled). Yes, some of these shows deal with fictional storylines in the way of zombies, however, they do pose the question of what our world would be like if there was no society and our governments failed. This, of course, can make anyone wonder what it would be like to not have a society and/or government. I’ve even seen a television show titled Doomsday Preppers in which people prepare for the end of society. My point behind all of this is that the fear is still out there; maybe not as much as it used to be, but it is still there. I’m sure that even you have had thoughts and fears about our society, as we know it, collapsing. What are your thoughts on what Hobbes believed compared to what you believe? Do you yourself agree with his theory?
Reference:
Roskin, M. G., Cord, R. L., Medeiros, J. A., Jones, W. S. (10/2013). Political Science: An Introduction, 13th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781269724821
Alon,
I can agree with what you have posted. It all comes down to a person’s perception is their reality. If what they are experiencing is the extent of their whole knowledge, then that, obviously, will be all that they will know. I like how you brought up the television. Watching anything on television can be very biased, and if a person only watches one television show, for example, that will be their knowledge/perception.
A’lon,
Unfortunately fear is still a large part of society today. During our last elections I heard several speak out about fear of the new administration. Fear of losing their freedoms, homes, religions, and even citizenships. Do I think all of that fear was warranted? I am not sure. All I know is what my perception is and I can not speak for anyone else. However I do believe that their fear was genuine. Would you say that today’s US government uses fear to gain power? Do you think that this is true for past administrations as well? I feel all governmental officials use some fear to gain power.
Scott
William, yes i believe the fear is 100% real! I had several of my patients tell me how they were afraid of losing their health insurance. Many of them were able to obtain Obama Care. Some of them spoke of how they were uncertain of how they would pay for medications and doctors appointments if they lost their health insurance. I could tell at that very moment, these people really felt what they were saying. I agree, government officials do use fear to get what they want! Unfortunately this happens too often!
Scott,
I agree with your statement, furthermore, I think fear will always be a part of society no matter what. in that fear is self determined in ones own perception of what is presented to them. One could argue that government does use a sense of fear to gain power, don’t we all in a sense. At home, me telling my children if they don’t make their beds or do their chores, there will lose privileges. In a sense, I am using fear to gain power and in return get what I want them to do. I think one could correlate politics in the same way. What I feel is different in different government administrations, is in fact how they deliver their message of trying to gain power. Two different politicians can deliver the same message, but depending on their approach, tone and delivery can incite the perception of fear.
Michelle
William,
Your post caught my eye. I agree that the fear of some people in this last election was probably genuine, however, I do not necessarily agree that it was warranted. Same as you. On your topic of government officials using fear to gain power, I can see where you’re coming from but not in such a literal sense. I don’t think that the fear tactics are extreme like how they’ve been used in U.S. history and other nations as well. I think that the use of fear to control the public is more so coming from the news and what we are seeing on an every day basis whether it be in the newspaper, television, internet, or social media. From what I’ve come to notice, society is more afraid of these portrayals regarding our society, be them true or not. Gov’t and it’s officials know that a fearing society is a more controllable and persuadable one. The tactic of fear is still happening however more low key.
Professor Terwilliger and class,
Plato’s reflections are an interesting point on reality. If you were chained down and all you saw were these reflection’s then that would become your reality as it being all you know. Whether or not they are your family member’s, pets, god or gods would be related to your state of mind. Just like looking at clouds most people never see the same object. You would have a group of people that think the light is GOD creating the reflection’s. This gives a justification to their reality. Reality is based on qualitative data as this develops our interpretation of the world. These reflections would be much like our tv’s today. Reality becomes what we see and opinions formed by the images placed in front of us, regardless of fact or opinionated.
I would agree that the political process drive’s our reality. As we read and watch tv we are gathering empirical data. This allows us to form opinion’s and beliefs on what is happening in the world. The political process is important to this because as stated by Kant “Gathering facts without an organizing principle leads only to large collections of meaningless facts.” (Roskin 19)
Reference:
Roskin, Michael G., Robert Cord, James Medeiros, Walter Jones. Political Science: An Introduction, 13th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 10/2013. Vital Book file.
The citation provided is a guideline. Please check each citation for accuracy before use.
Travis,
I agree with you that the reflects a person may see can be one, if not more, of many things. In addition to that, I also believe that the context of this statement is that the reflections reflect a person’s past and how it related to their current situation. For example, if one has encountered a traumatic event in their past, that event will follow them for the rest of their life. These types of events can then reflect as to how a person manages during other situations that may come up in their future. This can also be related to what happens in our lives in regards to political events. Take for example any issues related to immigrants. There are so many events that have happened in the United States, and society has begins to stereotype certain nationalities related to these events. Therefore, politics begin to come into play when people of different nationalities come into the United States. It was said that after 9/11 happened, homeland security not finds ways in order to place security into every aspect of citizen’s lives. (Hicks, 2016) This shows just how the past can reflect on how people perceive the future.
Reference:
K. Hicks. (2017) The United States has faced threats before and after 9/11. Its test will be the choices it makes about constitutional rights and freedoms. The Atlantic.
Travis:
I agree those reflections are the things that you will become to know as reality. Your discussion about the TV and those images become our reality and how it drives our political process. What I someone does not have TV, a smartphone, or read the newspaper. How is their reality form in the political process? I have friends that do not have TV’s in their homes because they do not like the things that are being shown on TV. They are protecting their family from those images that might be forming their reality. Is this what Plato story might have been as well. Protection from reality?
Rory
I think that is actually a good idea. I have family that does not have television in their homes. I think this promotes family togetherness. In today’s world we have television, smart phones, tablets and many other electronics. While I enjoy these things, I do admire those that choose not to use these things in their everyday lives. I do not necessarily think that they are being protected from reality, their reality just differs from ours. And I am not sure that is what Plato’s story was about either. I interpret it as varying realities. Everyone’s realities vary to a point. Different ethnicities, cultures, religions all view the world differently. Even individuals within each group hold different views. As far as developing a political opinion without television and access to the media, how much of what we see on television and social media is actually true? I find that most of it, especially on social media, is unfounded information. If I based my political opinions on what social media says, I would have just written my own name on the ballot instead of trying to decide who I thought was the best candidate from the choices given.
Scott
William:
I will agree that their reality differs from our reality. We all have our own perception of reality as we all have been taught differently and have taken all that information or images in our own computer (head) and worked them out for our beliefs. Yes, the outside sources do have an influence on our reality if we have a TV or not. We still interact with society daily. This interaction might influence what we perceive as reality. Politically, yes if we based our reality on social media we would be lead astray at with our thoughts and perception. Just think if the Presidents Twitter account was taken away and not just for the eleven minutes yesterday.
Rory
Greetings Travis,
Great Post. I think Plato allegory still holds true today and I see the world as prisoners to controlled thoughts because perceptions are all over the media, news, and even in the schools. For many individuals even if the truth is presented many would rather stay enslaved because many people cant handle the truth of reality. Plato explained that the truth which is the light is very blinding and shocking (Roskin et. al., 2017).
Reference
Roskin, M, Cord, R, Medeiros, J, & Jones, W. (2014). Political Science: An introduction (13th ed). Hoboken, N.J.: Pearson.
Professor Terwilliger and Class,
“Political science is not necessarily training to become a practicing politician. Political science is training in objective and often complex analysis, whereas the practice of politics requires fixed, popular and simplified opinions.” (Roskin, p.16). Political science can drive our perception of reality by using our own subjective opinions compared with general and objectives, analyzing them and developing new simplified judgements. “Perception is reality” is a cliché often said by instructors, and parents including mine, that never made sense until adulthood. An example proving that could be reading text messages or tweets. Certain messages may not have been meant to come off with a rude tone, but the reader may perceive it as rude and respond in a negative way. That is where perception is a personal reality held by an individual. With that, I think I would take the reflections as simply that, reflections of myself from the light behind me. And why I would be interested in the reflection shapes, sizes, their movements, I think I would be more interested in where the light from behind is coming from. If there is light behind me, is there life behind me? Are there more people in the cave like me? Can we work together to get out? Do we even want to get out? As for family, what if it is my family in the cave also? What can be done to save myself in an effort to save them, or vice versa?
– Dana
Roskin, M, Cord, R, Medeiros, J, & Jones, W. (2014). Political Science: An introduction (13th ed). Hoboken, N.J.: Pearson.
I personally feel that Plato’s allegory is, for the most part, pretty relevant to the lives of society today. People’s lives today are being controlled by the advertising industries. Our lives are not only being controlled by advertisements, but magazines, the internet, and just the media in general is controlling just about everyone in modern day society. The media uses propaganda to try to get us to do what they want and to try to portray everything they are trying to sell us as being what we need in order to be cool, to fit in, or to become the most popular kid in school. These companies use celebrities, glittering generalities, false advertising, and anything else that they can think of just to make sure that we buy their products. The media is not only telling us what we want to hear, it is also starting to brainwash people.
Yes, political process can drive our perception of reality. We only know what we are surrounded with- they could be represented by family members, friends, and like i stated- the media.
n.n (2017) http://www.cousehero.com
Let’s turn this allegory into a story about the state. Think of this way: The individuals chained to the floor of the cave represent the people of a state. In this chained position, they are only allowed to know what the state, represented by those walking behind the caved individuals and creating the shadows on the wall, wants them to know. Of course, this changes once the people are taken out of the cave, thus rising above the state and learning the truth for themselves in the outside world. Can you see this representation? For example, image a country where the state controls all media outlets, and censors any news coming into and out of the country. Can the people truly understand the true picture without all the information?
Professor and class,
I can see this representation, and so should you. It exists in the world we are living in now. You can use an example North Korea where it is a communist state (communism, Marxist theory merged with Leninist organization into a totalitarian party) (Roskin pg 41), or right here at home in the United States. Why am I saying we have this here? Simply because the media controls everything we see and hear now. Yes, we still have the freedom to research and listen to and watch different things, but most things are not broadcasted on main stream media, where the bulk of people get their information and entertainment. in regards to Plato’s allegory, in my opinion, we are chained to the floor, only seeing what is being served to us. People as a group will never understand the true picture because we are conditioned to believe that what is being shown on mainstream media is the truth, and it isn’t.
Reference
Roskin, M, Cord, R, Medeiros, J, & Jones, W. (2014). Political Science: An introduction (13th ed). Hoboken, N.J.: Pearson
Angela,
I completely agree with your statements above. What we see on TV, the news etc is controlled by the government and their is always an agenda behind it. I feel as individuals it is our responsibility to educate ourselves and seek out further sources of truth to see the big picture.
As a nurse, I often question the latest agendas being pushed even down to vaccines and mandatory flu shots. I feel that as educated health care staff it is our role to look beyond everything that is fed to us as truth and to do our own research, to question things.
Sometimes I think that as people go through school and are educated on a topic that take that on as their truth and lose the desire or ability to research things out on their own outside of what they were told was truth during their schooling.
Christina,
Great post and great way to relate to health care! I completely agree with the way things are regulated by our government and question the motives. At our hospital we offer the flu shot between the months of October thru March. We have to ask every patient that is admitted to the hospital if they would like the flu shot. In nursing school we are taught not to receive the flu shot if you are not feeling well. Well aren’t most if not all people who are admitted to the hospital not feeling well? It is government mandated that we do this. Some of the physicians do not agree with this policy and the shots are ordered per hospital policy not physician order. The physicians get angry because they do not want their patients to receive the flu shot. What happens if they spike a fever? How do we know if the fever is from the flu shot they received or if something else if going on in their body? Why should this policy be mandated by the government (which is where the hospital policy stems from) and not the physician’s order who is the one that is supposed to dictate the patients care. This policy should not be legal. It is all about money and government procedures. Patient’s have the right to refuse and education is provided. Most patients opt out in the hospital and follow up with their primary physicians.
Angela,
Very good point you made about the media controlling everything we know, even though we have the liberty to search on information. We are surrounded by various forms of media just about wherever we go. From watching TV to travelling in our car, we will encounter some kind of message that someone wants us to take notice of.
Angela,
Great interpretation! Many people take what the media tells them at face value, instead of doing research. I didn’t think of people as a whole being chained to the floor, simply because even though we have the freedom to research to see the bigger picture, the bulk of people do not. Your post really made me think about things from a different perspective – good job!
Hello Professor, I don’t think the people can understand the true picture because they are not given all the information. How can one say “Yes i understand” If they don’t have all information to understand. In my opinion it is not possible. They would want them to know just the portion of the information they want them to know. It’s not feasible. The only way they will truly know the truth of the outside world is if they get 100% of the facts, if not, it would be an injustice.
Professor,
I think people could take two argument on your question.
The first would be that no person can make an informed stance or understanding of the true picture without all the information, how can they? On the flip side, one could argue that in a country where all the media is restricted and censored, this is all the information they know, so to them they have the whole picture, that is the picture presented to them. In other words, they know no difference.
There was a great article in The New Yorker this year that showed that even with all the facts, people still choose not to see the whole picture. Even with facts, ones perception of reality often trumps reality. A great example in the article is, “But no matter how many scientific studies conclude that vaccines are safe, and that there’s no link between immunizations and autism, anti-vaxxers remain unmoved” (The New Yorker 2017).
Michelle
Reference:
Kolbert, E. (2017, June 19). Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds
Professor,
I would have to say that it would be a definite no in regards to anyone being able to understand the true picture without all of the proper information. I would compare it to purchasing a vehicle. you have three vehicles, all the same price, all of the same mileage,all of them you like and you have to make a decision. What you do not know is that one of them has major engine problems and one has electrical issues, the other is in perfect working order. Without the proper information how would you ever make an informed decision?
I can definitely see the representation. It makes complete sense. The state only knows what is put in front of them. If they never go into the outside world or have any contact then they don’t know anything different. The government has an influence over the news. What people believe can be skewed from watching the news. The election and political offices that are held were voted for by people that have skewed views from “being in the cave.”I don’t believe people can fully understand the big picture without all the information.
Michelle,
I agree with your response completely. I think that a lot of society today is most definitely controlled by the advertising industries and news media every day in both positive and negative ways (mostly negative, in my opinion). The media has a hold on people, and has for years, that quite possibly might never be fully understood. I have heard people trying to have a full blown argument with other people based on something they saw on the news that may or may not have any real factual evidence if they actually were to look into it. Or the way that society deems what is the ‘perfect’ man or woman which has been known to be damaging to young boys and girls in their developing years.
In regards to Plato’s allegory, I think that this is a decent analogy when to comes to the world today. The perception that some people have about our world can even be compared to being chained to a wall and not knowing what’s behind you while making blind conclusions as to what those things may be. Often choosing the option that best suits you and your life or goes along with your existing opinions (we all do it). I know that connection was a stretch and shouldn’t be taken completely literal, but for the sake of the discussion it came to my mind.
To end, given the rest of my response I think it’s fair to say that I believe that the political process can drive our perception of reality. Either in a negative or positive manner. This is based on the individual’s previous thoughts, ideas, opinions, and conformity tendencies. Our perception is our own reality and it has been proven time and time again that two people can be looking at the same exact thing or have the same exact piece of evidence and take it two different ways.
Edited by Leigh Bennett on Oct 31, 2017 at 5:32pm
Michelle,
I completely agree with the fact that we are being brainwashed by the media when it comes to politics. Media tends to ignore some issues as they glorify or over televise others, so that certain issues are more known than others. A fun fact that I stumbled across was that Media usage stems all the way back to when President Franklin Roosevelt was famous for his “FIRESIDE CHATS,” where he used the radio to soothed the pain of economic depression and war by talking to citizens(ushistory.og)
Reference
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/5d.asp
I personally feel that Plato’s allegory is, for the most part, pretty relevant to the lives of society today. People’s lives today are being controlled by the advertising industries. Our lives are not only being controlled by advertisements, but magazines, the internet, and just the media in general is controlling just about everyone in modern day society. The media uses propaganda to try to get us to do what they want and to try to portray everything they are trying to sell us as being what we need in order to be cool, to fit in, or to become the most popular kid in school. These companies use celebrities, glittering generalities, false advertising, and anything else that they can think of just to make sure that we buy their products. The media is not only telling us what we want to hear, it is also starting to brainwash people.
Yes, the political process can drive our perception of reality. We only know what we are surrounded with. They could be family members, friends, and like previously stated- the media.
n.n (2017) http:// www.coursehero.com
Michelle,
Thank you for your thought provoking and interesting post. After reading it, I was thinking about what you said about the media (advertising) attempting to influence and control people’s lives. I think in some ways, we bring that on ourselves. George Orwell warned us in his book 1984 about leaders who will try to control our thinking through propaganda and constant surveillance. He warned us in 1949 (the year the book was published) that “Big Brother” would be watching us. How could he have predicted that 60 years later “Big Brother” would turn out to be us, as we aim the camera at ourselves and post way too much information about our personal lives online. We, like advertisers and politicians, try to project an image. So, in our own little way, we are like the larger propogandizers in the sense that we are selling a version of ourselves (a version of the truth), one that we want others to see; and not necessarily an accurate one. So, in seeking to be enlightened, or as Plato’s terms, escape the cave, we must learn to see past the image (propaganda) and discover truth. (And now to get philosophical a bit) if we are selling versions of the truth about ourselves, or accept things at face value (Political rhetoric, “Fake News”, advertisers claims, etc.) without attempting to seek out the logical facts behind the statements, then we are accepting less than the truth. There can’t be several versions of truth, so even though the shadows in the cave may represent versions of the truth, only the light of day (education and powerful thinking) can separate the hype from truth. I found an interesting article from the Pew Research Center (2017), where they define a term called “Post Truth”. The authors state, in late 2016, Oxford Dictionaries selected “post-truth” as the word of the year defining it as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” As we enter the world of post truth, hopefully we can learn to discern truth from not truth. A philosophy professor once told his class, “if you want to drive philosophers crazy, just tell them that the truth is relevant, and watch them go bananas”.
Thanks again, Michelle …
Gordon
Reference:
Andersen, J. & Rainey, L. (2017). The future of truth and misinformation online.
Pew Research Center. Retrieved from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/10/19/the-future-of-truth-and-misinformation-online/
Michelle:
Interesting point that you make about the advertising companies. There are many “shadows” that are there that influence us with their pictures and themes during these commercials. Sometimes they are very thought out that they only last 10 seconds and onto the next one. We then think oh, I need that product and go online and order it. It is going to make my life better, I need it now.
These are just products look at the political advertisements that are on, these tend to lead us one way or the other in deciding how we feel about our government. The unfortunate thing with that is that we do not know what goes on in their “Cave” to help them come up with their decisions or statements.
Thank you
Rory
Edited by Rory Beebe on Oct 31, 2017 at 1:05am
I know as a kid and even now as an adult I look at the sky and makeup images. Those images are of things that are familiar to me. My mind tries to make sense of what I’m seeing through my past experience and knowledge. That’s what we are limited to, our mind, and what we think we know. The reflections I would see would be of what my mind creates through past knowledge. I would not make up anything I didn’t know or could imagine. The images would represent the world my mind would create out of fear most likely. Fear is a very strong driving force. I would take solace in the light behind me because of my religious up bringing. Light represents hope and maybe God. After being taken out and learning a better world or existence I would want to go rescue the others. It is human nature to want to help others. “The moral philosopher Adam Smith (also the “father” of economics) argued in his 1759 book The Theory of Moral Sentiments that virtue derives from our innately social nature in which we cannot help but share in the joy and pain of those around us” (Zak, 2011). Didn’t we just see the how strangers helped strangers in the recent Vegas shootings? Strangers took victims to hospitals.
The political process does drive our perception of reality if we don’t question it. If we blindly believe all we are fed through the world we live in then what we see is what we believe. The definition of Belief according to Merriam-Webster is; conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence. We have to examine the evidence, sometimes, as we have learned, what we call evidence or studies can be manipulated, so what is the truth?
Angelica
Definition of Belief. (2017). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belief
Roskin, M, Cord, R, Medeiros, J, & Jones, W. (2014). Political Science: An introduction (13th ed). Hoboken, N.J.: Pearson
Zak, P. (2011). Are Humans Good or Evil? Psychology Today. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-moral-molecule/201102/are-humans-good-or-evil
Hi Professor and Class.
What an interesting and thought provoking reflection. This all boils down to personal perception of the reflections on the cave and ideology of the outside world. Does the prisoner view the shadows as a literal meaning of darkness, or as an allegorical meaning of something more? If these reflections were all I knew from birth, the shadows would be what I made myself believe they were. However, if I found myself in this cave later in life, my experience of what I had from the outside world would change my perception on what these shadow are because of the knowledge I gained outside the cave. In this scenario, the duration of stay in the cave can drastically change one’s view of what the shadows represent. Are the shadows merely shadows, or do they actually represent something in the background? When reviewing and article title Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave: Meaning and Interpretation, (n.d.), Plato believed there were two types of perception, sensory and spiritual. Sensory perception is the world of appearance, which we perceive, with the help of our sensory organs and is the world of illusion and falsehood because it is impossible to perceive solely based on our senses. Spiritual perception is the rejection of sensory perception and believe that perception is an ideal concept.
In my research, I came across an image and found it to be a perfect fit for this discussion. Unfortunately, the board doesn’t allow for image uploading. Please see the URL: http://www.philosophyzer.com/the-allegory-of-the-cave-by-plato-summary-and-meaning/
Resources:
Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave: Meaning and Interpretation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2017, from http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/creationofknowledge/allegory-of-the-cave.html#.Wfi1emiPLIU
