Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” (Dennis J. Quinn)

This passage was difficult to understand at times. But from what I gathered it is enlightening and insightful. It is first amazing to read this text, which dates back to ancient times. The wording is very impressive and well articulated. I always passed Socrates and Plato off as merely ancient philosophers who lead astronomy and politics for the rest of the world and did not give them their proper dues. Now I feel obligated to read much further. This allegory holds a lot of truth about our being. The idea that we don’t really see things as they really are and that we need to cultivate knowledge through education, not from teachers, but through our own educational process which comes from searching, pondering and realizing reality. When the soul is given the opportunity to ascend into deeper/higher intellect, reality is seen and the truth is clear. Because this cultivation occurs and has allowed for the individual to see things as they really are, rather than just the unknown shadows of unknown objects, the descent back to the cave does not matter because intellect now knows the object and shadows as they truly are. Now that they have seen the light, which was at first blinding, but with time, has allowed for greater realizations of the truths around us. These realizations lead the human condition to new found virtues and wisdom, which breeds our full potential and our given right of our being; which is good and not entirely evil.

Our own culture may break us apart or pull us together. Because we are naturally comfortable with what is habit and likewise, the things unlike us tend to separate us from one another and create construed belief systems. But with knowledge and intellect we see the differences in similarities and similarities in differences which overall creates a unity, which is what our universe is made up of. I think of the yin and yang symbol at this moment, which comprises of two forces or polarities that only seem to exist with the other present. You can’t have darkness with out light. You also can’t have good without evil which ends my response because on the notion alone, I will forever be confused and slightly mad.