CAVE ALLEGORY

At the start of Book 7, Socrates compares human nature in its educated state to the human nature in the uneducated state (Plato, The Republic, 174). He begins by describing a group of prisoners that are chained to their existence and are only allowed to see the shadows on the wall in front of them (Plato, The Republic, 175). As a consequence, the prisoners’ reality is the shadow. Socrates explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who eventually escapes from the cave only to find out that the shadows on the wall are not the true form of reality and that there is much more to it than what just meets the eye. As a result, he pity’s his fellow prisoners for not being able to experience what he has and heads back to help them (Plato, The Republic, 177). When he returns to the cave, his descent to the dark environment blinds his eye and he is no longer welcomed by the other prisoners who think he has been harmed by his journey out (Plato, The Republic, 176). Socrates uses this allegory as a way to relate our existence to the prisoner’s existence. We all start from the cave and this is human nature in its uneducated state. Socrates says that in a society where humans depend upon one another such a person who has the “knowledge of the good” (Plato, The Republic, 167) should have the responsibility to come back and help his fellow inmates out even if it goes against his will. He may not be able to get everyone out of the cave but he will still be able to make a difference in their lives and live his life to the best that he can.

Although Socrates connects various topics using the cave analogy from why philosophers should become kings (Plato, The Republic, 138), to why nurture is primary in the nature/nurture boundary (Plato, The Republic, 48) and to what is injustice and ‘bad’ (Plato, The Republic, 113) there is one central theme that is the basis of the argument and that is the solution to achieving “good” is philosophical education. He also infers this when he says that the “direction set by education” will influence and control everything that follows (Plato, The Republic, 92).

The relationship between an individual and society is truly intricate. One cannot exist without the other. This brings out questions like: how do we live with one another, who gets to choose the way we live, who does what etc. As we live in the bigger construct of human civilization we must remember that we should always strive for the greater good because if we don’t we would fuel injustice which would lead to further problems such as crime, ignorance, and unhappiness.  In the end, we need to choose between what kind of future we want, do we want one with ignorance, unhappiness, and crime or do we want one with truthful understanding, happiness, and a sense of belonging (the greater good)? Plato and other ancient Greek philosophers described this teleological notion (strive for a utopian society) as a way to avoid injustice and the eventual destruction of humanity.  The philosophers’ job is to take these matters into the hand as they are the only people capable of making the best possible decisions on the basis of what is “good” or as Socrates says it, they are “like queen bees to lead the hive and” themselves (Plato, The Republic, 180). We can infer from this that a philosopher is to a prisoner the same way a human is to society and vice versa.

The reason why philosophers have the “knowledge of the good” is that they’ve become accustomed to value and strive for the true nature of being or “what is”. Based on this premise, it is simple to say that no one will ever get close enough to how much the philosophers understand the good. It’s now easier to also say that philosophers have the power to make better decisions for the greater good as well. From all this, it would seem to be quite useless of them to not take up the responsibility of sharing “in the labors and honors” and to return and help the prisoners (their former selves) out of the cave. This comes back to what Socrates says earlier in the text about an ideal or utopian society that directs itself towards the “greatest possible happiness” for everyone within it, rather than the happiness of one particular member or class of people (Plato, The Republic, 87). Therefore, according to Socrates, the prisoner must take up the responsibility to return to the cave because he is a part of the collective/society.

When the philosopher returns to the cave, the prisoners think he has been blinded by the light that he talks about, while the philosopher understands that the prisoners have not devoted themselves to thinking or understanding because they have not been exposed to the truth. The shadows that the prisoners are accustomed to seeing are merely “phantoms” (Plato, The Republic, 180) that are projected by culture (inside the cave) onto their minds and since all the other cave dwellers (prisoners) think the shadows are genuine, it feels like common sense and it becomes ‘second nature’ to think that the everything is genuine. This can simply be called the multitude effect and this effect is really strong because it is hardwired into every prisoner who has not seen the true light from the sun.  Therefore, some of these prisoners will have a strong nature that is based on partial or bad values/experiences and will never want to see a different side.  When the philosopher returns to the cave, he will start to realize that he needs to make “good” decisions and show the right direction to the prisoners but not take them there because he knows that forced learning doesn’t stay with the soul (Plato, The Republic, 196).

The philosopher, through his experience, knows that the path to truth is an extremely difficult path to take and will eventually find it easier to train or educate people in philosophical education rather than use brute force. Socrates connects this to nurture and explains why good nurture automatically produces good nature (Plato, The Republic, 91 & 182). Philosophical education builds upon other forms of education that are received during nurture such as poetry, gymnastics, the study of solids, astronomy, and then dialectic reasoning so that it’s much easier for everyone to take the path towards truth or ‘what is’.  It will also not just allow any random person to look at the sun (truth) and then use the knowledge he has acquired through sight into selfish and evil motives, such a person could be very harmful to society (Plato, The Republic, 179). The philosopher will also know how to test to see if someone is worthy enough to be able to grasp the full scale of the truth and not be permanently blinded (state of dreaming) by it because he had experienced it himself. Therefore, it is possible for the philosopher to lead everyone out of the cave in a utopian frame of reference but nothing is ideal and there will be cases when the prisoners are too stubborn to leave and there will be cases where the philosopher thinks the prisoners are not ready or right yet.

Plato did not believe that the multitude could leave the cave and also had a personal experience from Socrates’s trial that led to death by execution for “corrupting the youth” (Plato, Apology). Through his books, however, he was successful in carrying out the message that there are various matters in hand. He is somewhat similar to the prisoner who returns back to the cave except that he used literature to convey his ideas and notions. Through his writing, it’s pretty evident that he lived by example and returned to the cave to help us understand “what is”.

'Nurture over Nature' and Wrestling with Manhood

The importance of education is not only absolutely crucial in the development of a child but also in the development and excellence of society as a whole. Keeping that in mind, every individual and every organization should revolve around the idea that they are passing on a legacy of not only the truth but moreover the responsibility to strive for a greater good. In the eyes of Socrates, such a society would lead to the “greatest possible happiness” for everyone within it, rather than the happiness of one particular member or class of people (Plato, The Republic, 87). This slows down the process of accumulation of disorder in society over time. Therefore, it is vital that cultural producers, writers, video game designers, advertising executives, or anyone in that matter of fact consider the potential impacts their artifacts have on society.

The fact is, nobody knows what truly is good or bad, all we can do is to understand the consequences they have and tune ourselves to a more efficient approach so we can progress further and better. Ancient Greek philosophers described this teleological notion as a way to avoid injustice and the eventual destruction of humanity. The consequence of “bad” education is a society that is dominated by ignorant and unhappy people. Bad education here could be in the form of media, schooling, food, technology, culture, entertainment, and almost any type of exposure that could affect the nature of people negatively. Socrates decides to continue this conversation with respect to nurture which he thinks is a stronger force but returns and correlates to how it produces good nature in people (Plato, The Republic, 91). He talks about how children can be most easily molded and nurtured and how they tend to retain that information and reflect upon it throughout the rest of their lives (Plato, The Republic, 48-49). Children with a good education will most naturally turn out to be happy, wise, and just benefactors to themselves and society (conditions apply). “For the purpose of teaching excellence” (Plato, The Republic, 50) we must make sure that stories that children hear are composed well with plenty of thought into how they will withstand the test of time (Plato, The Republic, 48). “Excellence” here refers to the most efficient or almost utopian view of everything (soul and body) that has been, is, and will be. When the organs of a human body are healthy it can be inferred that the person is healthy, likewise, Socrates says that when an individual in a society is wise the same goes for the whole city or society (Plato, The Republic, 109).

In such a framework, it can be said that cultural producers, writers, video game designers, advertising executives, etc. are not only just workers in society but also educators to the people who are influenced by their work. It is extremely important that such people produce good and wise content so that they do not create a platform for immorality, injustice, and corruption but instead establish a firm base in justice, happiness, morality, health, and the general good within society. But to be able to cultivate such values, they themselves would have to be wise as well as a product of good education or in other words, be philosophers. Therefore, I agree with Socrates that children should be raised in a culture or environment that cultivates positive social and ethical values.

It can be inferred that the directors (Sut Jhally and Jackson Katz) of Wrestling with Manhood are good educators. Wrestling with Manhood is a documentary outlining the themes of the World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE and how it portrays a bad form of entertainment or education to society. Some of the themes that WWE glorifies are homophobia, bullying, normalizing gender violence, general abuse, manliness, and an over-sexualized portrayal of divas. The many wrestlers in the show are mere characters performing a planned and dangerous scene, one that involves harsh conversations, sudden anger, and violence. Due to its popularity, it reveals the sad and uncomfortable truth of what it means to be entertained by something like that. Each theme mentioned above can frame ideas in the viewers that promote similar desires and could lead to a society that mimics such qualities. What had originally started out as entertainment has soon become reality and this can be seen in the many videos that the documentary shows. There is a dialectic relationship between society and WWE in that the WWE is portraying what the society likes and the society, like what we are in, appreciates and promotes such forms of practices. The result (from entertainment like WWE and similar others like GTA etc.) in whatever way you see it in is that you have a society that is disease-stricken with pornography addiction, cheating, greed, drug abuse, violence, corruption, hatred, racism, injustice, and ignorance. It is really hard for people to not be lured into a form of entertainment such as the WWE especially when they are children. When a child is grown in a society like that he too consumes such ways of life and it will soon become ‘second nature’ to him. This is why Socrates starts off the conversation with Gluacon and his brother about education and how people who write (produce such artifacts) should be censored (Plato, The Republic, 62-63).

From all this, we can see that there is a close intricate relationship between education (not just schooling) and everything that is happening in the world. Therefore, a world that appreciates a healthier and happier form of life can only be brought about with good education, and a world that is sick, unhappy, and prevailing with injustice is the alternative to it. Socrates describes this when he says that the “direction set by education” will influence and control everything that follows (Plato, The Republic, 92). The directors of Wrestling with Manhood also talk about this throughout the documentary and try to explain how important it is for us to recognize that. When there is good education, people can just focus on excelling whatever they do and this will create magnified results and help us way more in the pursuit for a greater good.