After thinking I was done with dotting the i's and crossing the t's for my blog...for today,
...and thinking that 'spiritual evolution' would have to take a back seat while I get on with physical life# for the day.
BTW(# daily life situations are symbolic symbolism of the ideas that we draw to us from 'the spiritual' and that become participated in, and interacted with as we go about our day... so there is always a 'leaning in', observation and participation with daily life that pertains to the 'drive' that for some is spiritual and for others is programming. It shows up as manifestion, by default or conscious play with the universe, karma, or our subconscious, defined by level of realisation as we understand it. Michaela)
Anyway, I was wrong...
Getting busy with the day, I was asked if there was any gift wrap in the house.
I remembered I had two rolls in the cupboard so I said yes.
I was wrong again.
The two rolls were actually modern art posters, abstracts that depicted Plato's Allegory of a cave. Chatting with the offspring for a while, it turns that they both had studied this very allegory in Humanities and Classics classes at school. I went to a catholic school and we definitely didn't learn this stuff.
But Looking at the art posters I vaguely remembered that I did know about the 'cave'. I must have vaguely come across it somewhere before. It all came pouring back....
The posters I found showed this very image (below), printed onto an abstract/Artsy back ground.
And when I looked on-line for the image on the posters, I found the exact diagram on this site,
a wine merchants website, which also goes on to give an interpretation which is easy to read.
(For more analytical interpretations below that).
https://aretewines.typepad.com/arete_wines/2008/09/the-allegory-of-the-cave.html
The basic principle represented in this illustration is easy to understand, but the scope of its truth is sometimes overwhelming.
Imagine prisoners who have been chained deep in a cave since birth. Not only are their arms and legs chained, but their heads also, to the affect that they may only look in one direction and that is towards a wall.
Behind the prisoners is a large fire, and between the prisoners and the fire is a raised wall along which various puppets are moved back and forth. These puppets take many shapes and forms and when they are moved they create shadows on the wall in front of the prisoners. Behind the cave is a well used road along which many people pass by while they are walking and talking, thus making noises that the prisoners think are being made by the shadows.
The prisoners are engaged in what seems to us a game: naming shapes as they pass by them. This however is the only reality that they know. Even though they are merely seeing shadows pass by, they believe these shadows to be reality. They begin to judge the other prisoners on how quickly they can name and describe the shadows that are being portrayed on the wall.
Suppose a prisoners chains break and he is set free. It would take some time for him to even be able to walk, as he has been chained his entire life. Once he begins to stumble around he would begin to explore. Seeing the fire and puppets he knows now that this is not reality, but it will still take some time to realise what reality is. Walking toward the light he sees beyond the fire, he will eventually find his way outside into the light of the sun. This light would at first be blinding, but once his eyes began to adjust he would see the world as it is in all of its glory.
Once enlightened, he would be compelled to return to the cave to set the rest of the prisoners free. This presents a new set of problems as he must return to the darkness, even if only for a time. Because he can no longer identify the shadows or be able to see much of anything, the other prisoners would believe the light has ruined him. They would also have a difficult time understanding what he has seen and the wonders of it all would be lost on them since they know no such reality. They would most likely be content sitting on the floor watching and naming the shadows. https://aretewines.typepad.com/arete_wines/2008/09/the-allegory-of-the-cave.html
More on the allegory if you wish plunge further.
Analysis of the Allegory. https://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm
1. In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato describes the physical world as a “dark place” in which humans can only perceive objects through the senses. ... According to Plato, the soul is universal, pure, and immortal. Moreover, the soul has the ability to sense reality or the “true essence” of objects.
https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/HIST101-Subunit-5.3.5-Reading-Guide-Allegory-of-the-Cave-FINAL.pdf
Guide to Responding Study Guide for Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave Main Point Summary/Background: Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave is a meditation on “the essence of truth” and its paradoxical relation to human comportment. Plato uses this allegory to gradually guide readers toward a personal realization of knowledge and philosophy as the key elements for freedom and enlightenment. This fable also contains exquisite reflections on concepts such as knowledge, education, and politics. The Allegory of the Cave is one of the most famous pieces of philosophical literature and a pillar of western philosophy. To this day, it remains the best known and most critically assessed of Plato’s works. Just remember that this text is full of complex symbols and analogies, which scholars still differ as to their full meaning. Related Readings: This reading is related to the other readings in subunit 5.3 “Greek and Hellenistic Culture,” particularly to Dr. Steven Kreis’s “Greek Thought: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.” Remember that Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave is considered as one of the most important of Classical Greece’s literary and philosophical works; thus, this reading is of great importance to understand the entirety of Unit 5 “Classical Greece and the Hellenistic World.” Instructions: Below are excerpts from the reading and responses that serve as sample answers for the study questions. Review these answers after you have completed the study questions. Highlighting or taking notes while you read paired with later outlining and paraphrasing is an excellent method to ensure comprehension and retention of difficult material. 1. In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato describes the physical world as a “dark place” in which humans can only perceive objects through the senses. Plato referred to these objects as phenomena, or weak forms of reality. Thus, the physical world is not a realm where humans can obtain knowledge of true reality. 2. Plato believed that true reality of an object is not found through the senses. According to Plato, the senses are untrustworthy, and what we perceive through them is just phenomena—weak forms of reality. Only through abstract thinking, we can learn the “true essence” of an object. 3. According to Plato, the soul is universal, pure, and immortal. Moreover, the soul has the ability to sense reality or the “true essence” of objects. The Saylor Foundation 2 4. Plato describes the process of acquiring knowledge as the evolution from darkness to the light. In this journey, humans are able to see the essence of truth, or in other words, they are able to gain an understanding of what is actually real. This process, though painful and distressing, will at the end offer freedom and enlightenment to those who have acquire knowledge. 5. In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato suggests that “happiness” is the final reward for those who “leave the darkness of the cave.” Thus, happiness is achieved by gaining an understanding of what is actually real. 6. The “people chained in the cave” are those who, knowing no better and having no opportunity to know better, accept phenomena as reality. What they perceive through their senses, they interpret as real. 7. For Plato, education focuses on discovering what the soul already knows. To achieve this, a person should engage in reflection, dialogue, and contemplation to discover the essence of the soul and, by doing so, what the soul knows and desires. 8. Because the philosopher has knowledge, his task is to descend to the cave to help as many people as possible to gain knowledge, or in other words, to learn the truth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave
Allegory of the Cave
Plato has Socrates describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them, and give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoners' reality. Socrates explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not reality at all, for he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the manufactured reality that is the shadows seen by the prisoners. The inmates of this place do not even desire to leave their prison, for they know no better life. The prisoners manage to break their bonds one day, and discover that their reality was not what they thought it was. They discovered the sun, which Plato uses as an analogy for the fire that man cannot see behind. Like the fire that cast light on the walls of the cave, the human condition is forever bound to the impressions that are received through the senses.
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