Although antiquity, Plato’s Myth of the Cave is extraordinarily relevant today and can be interpreted in relation to how modern man absorbs information. Thus, Plato’s myth is an allegory, revealing a series of eternal philosophical ideas. Among them is the existence of objective truth, which is independent of people’s opinions; the presence of constant deceptions that make a person stay away from this truth; and the need for qualitative changes to access the truth.
Current scenarios can be easily compared with the ideas of Plato, reflected in his myth of the cave. One example is the information broadcast by the media today. This process can be analyzed through the stages of Plato’s allegory. The starting point is deception when the reality represented by the sources of information is only a shadow of reality and is filled with subjective ideas. At this stage, people consume information without even questioning it. Plato explains why people are so easily succumbed to misinformation, which is sometimes an obvious deception. According to Lawhead (2014), the point is that when people have no reason to doubt something, they do not, and lies prevail. Thus, the majority absorbs information without giving it critical analysis.
Some manage to reach the second stage, liberation, through questioning, analysis, research, and study. People become restless and insecure at this stage as beliefs are undermined and shaken. To get through this state, it is necessary to continue to move forward and discover new knowledge. Then follows the most challenging stage of acceptance, which involves rejecting old beliefs and adopting new ones. Plato considered that the past determines how a person experiences the present (Lawhead, 2014). Therefore, the philosopher suggested that a radical change in the way of understanding things leads to confusion and discomfort.
Finally, there is the spread of new ideas, which is characterized by confusion, contempt, misunderstanding, and even hatred, as the fundamental dogmas that are generally accepted by society are questioned. Thus, the meaning of Plato’s myth lies in the fact that reality can only be comprehended after a person leaves the cave and remains there, despite the difficulties that arise. Remaining in a cave, or in the modern sense, tied to a screen, one sees a distortion of reality and remains limited by the controlling forces.
Reference
Lawhead, W. F. (2014). The voyage of discovery: A historical introduction to philosophy (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.