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Allegory of the Cave (Because I'm Uncreative)~ Logan Turner

 Ah, yes. The allegory of the cave. One of my favorite lessons from philosophy that I learned over a year ago. It's a shame I don't really remember much of it. I will, however, try my best and give you the rundown from what I have left over in my notes. 

So the cave, as I understood it, is about education. I think we all understood that, right? Leaving the cave and learning about the outside world is a pretty blatant example of education. But what stuck with me the most are what Dr. Mashburn called the "confusions." Basically, there are two "confusions," or transitional periods, one while going from the darkness to light, and one while going from light to darkness. The dark period is one of ignorance (duh) and the light period is about knowledge (again, duh). So what he calls confusions are basically periods where you are learning something that conflicts with previously held beliefs. For instance, learning that there is more to life than the shadows on the wall. 

What I understood this to mean is that, in the pursuit of true knowledge, you have to go from the darkness to the light, even though the transition period may be miserable. You are also responsible for taking others out of that cave, so that they too can learn the value of knowledge, and in turn, do the same.

Edit: Commented on Haylee Lynd's and Lily Caswell's posts

Comments

  1. ClaboOctober 5, 2020 at 11:03 PM

    I completely agree with you, being faced with light and darkness is definitely a confusion, especially when it comes to determining which is which. However, what I would like to ask is what do you think would happen if a person was dragged out of the cave but they did not join the cause and help drag out others like them?

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  2. Jackson RiddleOctober 5, 2020 at 11:53 PM

    Going from dark to light, or ignorance to knowledge, can definitely be confusing at times, especially when it challenges the basis of all that we know to be true. The question I would like to pose is this: say you were unable to free your fellow inmates from their shackles. How would you go about trying to explain your enlightenment to them? Would you even try? (an example of this is page 210 of The Republic, when a prisoner escapes and attempts to describe the objects casting the shadows).

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