The beginning of the world and philosophical thinking have always been the most interconnected terms. Dwelling upon the beginning of the world people could not avoid philosophical reasons, while thinking philosophically, it is impossible to skip the idea of world creation. Having found two pieces of information, it would be rather interesting to compare them and find similarities in expression, if they exist. The Dawn of Man and The Allegory of the cave are going to be compared and discussed from the point of view of identical positions and man’s perception development which may be seen there.
Starting with The Dawn of Man analysis, it may be pointed out that the video shows the things which are discussed in The Allegory of the cave. To prove this point, the following parts from the video and Plato’s text should be described. First, Plato says that people lived in the caves and saw nothing except the light in front of their sight. Watching the video, the first thing that is seen is the cave where primitive creatures sit. Then the sunset is seen, nothing more. The video is shown from these creatures’ look; they stare before them and do not turn their heads in order to see something else. These creatures fall asleep and wake up on the sunrise still without watching what is going on behind them. The same is written in Plato’s dialogues, “they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads” (2007, p.169).
Turning to Plato’s dialogue, it is notable to say that he presupposes two kinds of the behavior of primitive creatures, either to remain in the position where they see nothing or to stand up and face the differences, overcome them and b one step forward in development. Watching the video, we may see primitive creatures that sit in their cave and see other creatures that came out of their caves and continue their way to improvement. Those who have come out of their caves see something new and do not want to touch it, do not want to have any connection with the new thing as they are afraid of it. Fear is a common feeling, especially to new things. But, when one primitive creature touches it, another also does the same. That barrier of fear is ruined (YouTube, 2001). If he/she can do this, why I should stay behind and watch; the idea is if you can, why I cannot. The same happened with the dawn of a man: when somebody did something unfamiliar, the others repeated, as they understood that it was not harmful. Comparing the last scene of The Dawn of a Man and Plato’s The Allegory of the cave, it may be concluded that primitive creatures tried to associate their thinking with the thinking of other people. When somebody did something, the others tried to repeat in order not to lag behind.
In conclusion, The Dawn of Man and The Allegory of the Cave are two kinds of information that were created in different periods of time and by different people but the ideas presented there are similar. In The Dawn of Man and The Allegory of the Cave the same things are discussed: when somebody saw nothing he sit and did nothing, but when they saw somebody’s actions, they tried to repeat in order not to come off.
Reference
Plato. (2007). Book VII. In Plato’s The Republic (pp. 169-175). New York: Wilder Publications.
YouTube. (2001). “The Dawn of The Man”. Web.