Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Plato s Allegory Of The Cave And The Gospel Of Matthew s...
Two distinct texts that may seem at odds when superficially compared, hinge on shared foundational values. Course study and personal analysis of Platoââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Allegory of the Caveâ⬠and the Gospel of Matthewââ¬â¢s Sermon on the Mount indicate both appeal against ignorance and warn against egotistic behavior. Both texts take a tactful and thoughtful examination of manââ¬â¢s inability to comfortably, consistently, and effectively look beyond their individual selves as the key figures in a normalized and standardized society. Telling here is Plato scholar Allan Bloom and his belief that: ââ¬Å"The modernist historical consciousness has engendered a general skepticism about the truth of all ââ¬Å"world viewsâ⬠except for that one of which it is itself a product (Bloomâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦In fact, what Plato seems most settled upon is the notion that the sensory realm amounts to no more than an illusion of substance and definitionââ¬âthat instead wh at we see and feel only mimics reality. Plato is clear that not all men are prepared to decline the comfort provided by ignorance to invite the unknown. He does not ââ¬Å"present a doctrineâ⬠as much as he ââ¬Å"prepares the way for philosophizingâ⬠(Bloom XXI). It requires man to adopt an outlook perpetually critical of seemingly objective experiences and knowledge. Doing so, according to the ââ¬Å"Allegoryâ⬠means questioning your peersââ¬â¢ reality and willingly declining the comfort of simplicity and familiarly for the ability to experience reality through thought. It means ditching the safety of the caveââ¬â¢s darkness for the chance to experience the brilliance of the sunââ¬âPlatoââ¬â¢s message is clear: reality and reason are most real when man is critical of what heââ¬â¢s established to be objective fact. One strong example from the text is when is when the prisonerââ¬â¢s eye witness freedom: ââ¬Å"And if he compelled him to look at the light itself what his eyes hurt him but h e fully turning away to those things that
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