Escape the Cave

About one year ago, in my “An introduction to philosophy ”class, I read the Plato’s cave for the first time. I still remember how I felt when I finish all the discussions in class. I felt that the structure of the world is like a Matryoshka doll; it is impossible for us to find what the “Truth” is, and we have no ability to know whether we have already lived in the real world. Caves are everywhere.

But this time, when I read it again, I am curious about how could we escape the cave, or actually caves.  Through the conversation, we know that, Socrates used this analogy to explain the difference between the educated people and the people who haven’t received the education. Everyone has the potential to “realize” and ”see” the truth. But we need the opportunity. For the man who was dragged away, he got the opportunities to be free and see the “actual” world. His cognition changed incredibly changed since he turned his head to see the light, and walked out to see the sun, the real sun in the sky. That is the power of education. But meanwhile, his wisdom seems to be ridiculous to other prisoners. He tried to pursue them walked out the cave, but they insist the cave is the real world. I really want to know what will happen to the man that step out the cave. Will he insist the truth he believed, or he will finally agree with his partners, and live in the cave again, even though he knew that all the things in the cave are illusion.

That reminds me the movies called The Shawshank Redemption. One scene shocked me when I watched the movie. The old man who lived half of his life in the prison chose to end his life after one week he was released.  Like the prisoners in the cave, the prison for the old man is the really world. That is the most horrible thing a prison could bring to the prisoners. They lost their hope, and believed that the little caves for them are home. To realize the real world is painful, so most people would love to choose a "easy" model of life, rather than the hard one. 

_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Other things:

There are many ways to do the education. One is that you push the “knowledge” into one’s mind; another is you guide one to the “knowledge”. Most educations belong to the formal one. But the latter one is painful.

Maybe education and knowing about the world is more about courage,rather than the ability. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

An animation version of this conversation.