What's Plato, Precious?

     Okay, so let's talk about the allegory of the cave. This dense little piece of writing has caused more than its share of headaches for people down the millennia. It's easy to misunderstand, especially since the original was written in Greek and there are issues of translation to account for, in addition to the fact that the ideas are tough. It also happens to be one of the most well-known pieces of philosophy in the world, with references in media from music ("The Cave" by Mumford & Sons, "Inaudible Melodies" by Jack Johnson) to webcomics (below).

http://xkcd.com/876/ "Trapped"

     So to get started, let's do a quick recap. This group of immobilized people are in a cave, watching shadow puppets on the wall, and believe, due to their limited scope of experience, that the shadow of a thing actually IS the thing itself. Shadows of horses are, to them, horses. Then one person is unchained and dragged upstairs to the real world. Let's call this person Phil (see what I did there?). Phil, being from the land of darkness, is dazzled by the brightness of the surface, and it takes a while for his eyes to adjust. When they do, he is surprised to learn what a real horse is like, and that what he had mistaken for horses were actually just shadows of the real thing. Then he discovers the sun, a symbol for the idea of good, and that it is the source of all light in the real world. When Phil returns to the cave, he is excited to tell the other prisoners what life is like Up There. However, because his eyes have to adjust again, this time to darkness, and he finds that he can't convince his former friends of the realities of his visions. Furthermore, they decide that wherever Phil went isn't a place worthy of going, since it ruins a person's ability to see the world below when they return. (If my summary was insufficient, fortunately for you, we live in the information age and more complete, if vulgar, summaries are just a Google search away.)

Your face when you realize you spent your whole life in a creepy underground cave watching shadows.

     I think the video below is a good example of what we're talking about. In our time, we think of artists as being especially connected to the higher planes of creative and spiritual thought, as having at least peeked out of the cave. Bob Dylan, the so-called Voice of his Generation, is particularly revered. In him we have a modern-day Phil who has, at least for the purposes of argument, been to a brighter place, seen the Form of truth, and returned to tell the tale. Unfortunately, since we are but lowly prisoners in the darkness, his sermon seems more than a little bit silly. (He also seems to have forgotten to remove the sunglasses that were necessary Up There.)


                                                    


     Seriously, what? Of course, it's always easy to have fun at the expense of celebrities. But the above example is one of a Phil. What about the other prisoners? In a world in which Phils are the exception, prisoners are surely the rule. But we consider ourselves fairly enlightened individuals. We're smart enough to see the world the way it really is. We got into Michigan, for God's sake! But I'm not sure it's that simple. Our socialization growing up was through movies and TV shows that imitated reality. Our social lives now, as young adults, are conducted largely through social media, text messaging, and Skype. Aren't these all just shadows? How often do a Cory and Topanga, a Ross and Rachel, a Jim and Pam, really find each other? And are you actually enjoying the concert you're at if you're watching it through your phone as you record it to post to Facebook? This is just some food for thought. You'll need someone to feed it to you though, what with the being immobile and all.