Introduction
Freedom is one of the most significant values for people of different ages, faiths, and countries, and the present era has set this idea exceptionally high. However, when one looks at the content of freedom in different cultures, one can see that it does not coincide meaningfully. Hence, to find its appropriate content, it is helpful to know how the definition of liberty has developed, which can be accomplished through Plato’s observations. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is a vivid, direct demonstration of slavery and freedom, in which the latter is a value not everyone can comprehend.
An Analysis of the Freedom Concept
The plot of the myth is as simple as it is profound. It describes deluded people imprisoned in a cave, mistaking the shadows of individuals and objects for reality and unaware of the outside world’s actual existence (Ostergaard 22). Enslaved people are detained in a cave; though they appear unrestrained because they can express their opinions, they can never comprehend freedom.
A truly free individual is one who, guided by a thirst for knowledge, finds in the harmonious operation of universal laws the reality and truth of life itself. To become unrestrained, one has to find the meaning of the astonishingly coordinated workings of the cosmos and the no less fantastic miracle that is human. In other words, an enslaved person considers oneself free because one shouts the desired (Ostergaard 25).
Nevertheless, a free human happily becomes a slave to the laws of the universe at the same time. One can come out of the cave when one understands what order is and can make responsible decisions that lead to the intended goal (Ostergaard 39). Freedom is born in the soul, aware of its immortality, and knows that its destiny is not limited to the events of physical life.
Conclusion
Thus, in the cave, people are taught that they are free to express themselves willingly. The prisoners shout, happily breaking and smashing up their cave, not thinking that they will never be allowed to leave it and that they should have kept it in order, simply for reasons of the economy. However, freedom requires, first and foremost, knowledge and order. It is achieved when all ascend to the summit of truth, and to arrive at it, one needs the counsel of one wise man more than the cries of a thousand ignoramuses.
Work Cited
in Agriculture: The Northern United States. Harvard University Press, 2012.
Ostergaard, Edvin. “Echoes and Shadows: A Phenomenological Reconsideration of Plato’s Cave Allegory.” Phenomenology & Practice, vol. 13, no.1, 2019, pp. 20-33.