Prompt: How might the "Allegory" help us understand media and media influence?
In Plato's The Allegory of the Cave, those who live in the cave represent us, as a society, and the shadows represent the distorted perception of reality fed to us by the media and those in power. Like the cave dwellers we, too, are "compelled to hold [our] heads unmoved through life", as we must accept the norms and beliefs of the society we are born into. Just as the prisoners in the cave know nothing else, we also know no other life than the one we have always lead, and do not recognize what we do not know.
When one prisoner escapes, he has a difficult time adjusting to the light of the outside world. It is a painful process, and at first he refuses to believe that the real world is real. In time, however, he realizes that what he originally believed to be reality was, in fact, false. This outside world is the pure and undistorted reality.
We experience something similar to this when we choose to leave our metaphorical "cave" and seek our own truth and meaning. Just like the escaped cave dweller, we can choose to "see the light" and not merely accept whatever distortion of reality the media is choosing to convey. We don't have to believe the media's interpretation -- we can create our own interpretation of events. By thinking differently, we can free ourselves from the media's skewed influence, and the darkness that we live in. We can learn so much more about life and the world if we look beyond the information that is readily available to us and begin to think more abstractly.
At first, our minds may have to adjust, just like the cave dweller's eyes did. Discerning reality is a difficult, and often uncomfortable process. It is much easier to simply listen to whatever you're told, and blindly believe those in power. But once you've found the truth by viewing information from all angles, you won't be able to go back to that life, and that metaphorical dark cave.
When the escapee ventured back to the cave to share his truth with the other prisoners, they ridiculed him. They did not want to listen, and did not want to question everything they knew to be true. They could not imagine a life outside the cave, for it was all they had ever known. Similarly, when we try to persuade others that news and media that they put so much stock in is propaganda or simply inaccurate, they often respond with anger. This anger is based on fear (as anger often is) for people are frightened by the unknown.
It is important that we remain aware, and question what we are told and shown. It takes courage to divert from he norm and speak truth, but it is the only way to free ourselves from that shackles that are ignorance.
In today's society, we can apply Plato's lessons to how we listen to our current president, and news outlets that support his lies. We must not take what he says at face value. We must realize that simply because a person has authority, does not in any way make them correct or deserving of our respect. Over the next four years, we will be told many "alternative facts" and it is our job to do our own research and attempt to share the truth with those who may not want to listen, even if it causes them to feel hatred or fear towards us or the truth.
In Plato's The Allegory of the Cave, those who live in the cave represent us, as a society, and the shadows represent the distorted perception of reality fed to us by the media and those in power. Like the cave dwellers we, too, are "compelled to hold [our] heads unmoved through life", as we must accept the norms and beliefs of the society we are born into. Just as the prisoners in the cave know nothing else, we also know no other life than the one we have always lead, and do not recognize what we do not know.
When one prisoner escapes, he has a difficult time adjusting to the light of the outside world. It is a painful process, and at first he refuses to believe that the real world is real. In time, however, he realizes that what he originally believed to be reality was, in fact, false. This outside world is the pure and undistorted reality.
We experience something similar to this when we choose to leave our metaphorical "cave" and seek our own truth and meaning. Just like the escaped cave dweller, we can choose to "see the light" and not merely accept whatever distortion of reality the media is choosing to convey. We don't have to believe the media's interpretation -- we can create our own interpretation of events. By thinking differently, we can free ourselves from the media's skewed influence, and the darkness that we live in. We can learn so much more about life and the world if we look beyond the information that is readily available to us and begin to think more abstractly.
At first, our minds may have to adjust, just like the cave dweller's eyes did. Discerning reality is a difficult, and often uncomfortable process. It is much easier to simply listen to whatever you're told, and blindly believe those in power. But once you've found the truth by viewing information from all angles, you won't be able to go back to that life, and that metaphorical dark cave.
When the escapee ventured back to the cave to share his truth with the other prisoners, they ridiculed him. They did not want to listen, and did not want to question everything they knew to be true. They could not imagine a life outside the cave, for it was all they had ever known. Similarly, when we try to persuade others that news and media that they put so much stock in is propaganda or simply inaccurate, they often respond with anger. This anger is based on fear (as anger often is) for people are frightened by the unknown.
It is important that we remain aware, and question what we are told and shown. It takes courage to divert from he norm and speak truth, but it is the only way to free ourselves from that shackles that are ignorance.
In today's society, we can apply Plato's lessons to how we listen to our current president, and news outlets that support his lies. We must not take what he says at face value. We must realize that simply because a person has authority, does not in any way make them correct or deserving of our respect. Over the next four years, we will be told many "alternative facts" and it is our job to do our own research and attempt to share the truth with those who may not want to listen, even if it causes them to feel hatred or fear towards us or the truth.
