Stefan

Socrates describes a cave in which people are chained at the neck and feet. They  cannot turn their heads to see what is behind them. They can only see shadows cast on the wall in front of them. There is a fire on the opposite side of the cave that casts shadows of people transporting all types of animals and materials. They cannot see the faces only shadows. The shadows sometime appear to be talking  but they are mostly silent. If one of these people were to somehow free themselves and see the sun and the outside world, would they accept the new reality  or live in ignorance thinking that there is no life outside of the cave.

          Most people are not aware of realities that differ from their own. They believe that they are living how they are supposed to. If I was one of the people chained in the cave, the shadows would be all that I knew. The sun and the outside world would mean nothing to me because I do not know that they exist.

          After a life of darkness and solitude, if you saw the sun and a chance at a new life, would you be able to resist? I would be overwhelmed with joy and excitement. This discovery would make me question everything. I would most likely become a philosopher because I would always be questioning reality and why we are here. How can you go back to a one sided life knowing that there is much more to discover?

          Although there are a lot of positive things about knowing things other people don’t know. Would anyone believe what you tell them about your discoveries. Would they question your sanity? Philosophers take the risk of being exiled for their work because it causes other people to question their reality. Making people question things like reality can be dangerous because they have to leave their comfort zone and explore new things to see if they are true. People are creatures of habit and it takes a philosopher to make them change their way of thinking.