Significance of Knowledge in Ancient Greek Philosophy - Essay Example

Significance of Knowledge in Ancient Greek Philosophy Introduction: The quest for knowledge is perhaps one of the most common themes found in the works of ancient Greek philosophers including Socrates, Plato, Descartes and the likes. Plato's "The Apology" presents a vivid account of the speech made by Socrates, who was charged with treason by the state for holding beliefs unfamiliar to them, deliberately treading a path unknown to most men in the society they lived in and for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens with his rebellious attitude and peculiar wisdom. The Apology however is not an apology in the real sense of the term. On the contrary it is a series of statements and dialogs made by Socrates to defend his point of view in the most direct and conversational style that is so characteristic of him. These dialogs together help in clearly depicting and interpreting Socrates’ wisdom and perspective on life in general during the closing scenes of his life. The dialogs also help in communicating Socrates’ zest for knowledge and his unrelentless pursuit for wisdom, which he describes as the real truth [Pla87]. Of the various conversations and dialogs on the significance of knowledge and the role of wisdom in eliminating ignorance and prejudice, The Allegory of the Cave presented by Plato, is perhaps one of the most well known and widely appreciated concepts in the Western philosophy. The cave that Socrates refers to is a metaphor used to emphasize the significance of education and the impact of ignorance on human soul [PlaCE]. Thesis statement: Humans by nature are fallible on account of the fact that their knowledge and understanding on all aspects that involve them is limited. It includes all beliefs that have been passed on from generations and carried out by the successors without question, and hence despite having 'proved' it's relevance, the beliefs are still subject to inquiry and can be challenged. This is because, wisdom is and cannot be confined or restricted and is constantly evolving, however people are reluctant to change their attitudes due to their limited knowledge, making them ignorant and unable to achieve wisdom. This essay seeks to discuss the significance of wisdom as proposed and perceived by Socrates’ allegory of the cave and unravel the message that he sought to convey, through it. The Allegory of the Cave & its relevance in our lives: Socrates used the allegory of the cave to describe the current state of our knowledge and ascertain whether we are as enlightened as we believe ourselves to be. He describes the cave as an underground den with its mouth wide open towards the light and reaching all along the den at the foot of the cave are prisoners who are facing a wall and chained so that they cannot move or turn their heads and can only look in front of them. Above and behind the prisoners is a fire blazing and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised wall which marionette-players use for a puppet show. The cave, which Socrates refers to as an underground den, is a metaphor for our secluded lifestyles where our thoughts and beliefs are confined to the things, we see and mistake it for ‘facts’ or the truth, while in reality the same is far from the truth. The things we / the prisoners firmly believe as the ultimate truth are in fact ‘shadows’ manipulated by the puppeteers. However the prisoners are unable to seek the reality behind these shadows and enlighten themselves since they are chained and restricted since childhood, preventing them from turning their heads toward the source or origin of the shadows or even question it’s origin in the first place [PlaCE]. Locke (1995) with regard to the origin of knowledge argues that human beings are not born with any native or innate ideas and states that children learn from their experience and from what they see and hear around them while growing up. Thus any knowledge they have is what they have been fed or exposed to by those around them and is hence limited by experience. The prisoners here are chained since childhood and are made to see and observe only the things shown to them by the people behind them. Their knowledge hence is limited due to lack of exposure or ability to turn their heads and seek the origin or real truth behind the images /reflections /shadows shown to them. In the Allegory of the cave, Socrates likens ignorance to that of living in a cave - a shell of ignorance, which is dark and closed off to all sources of natural light or knowledge. The prisoners refer to individuals who are restricted in their thoughts due to limited knowledge and lack of ability to ‘turn their heads and see the light’. He further states that the prisoners are only able to see their own shadows or the shadows of men passing behind them or of the objects that are carried by them. Thus what the prisoners are able to see are merely reflections of the real things that are carried by the men or of the men themselves and in order to ascertain or identify the meaning of the shadows, the prisoners have to rely on their senses since any sort of movement is restricted. Similar thoughts have been conveyed by Descartes; a renowned philosopher and a rationalist who firmly believed and endorsed the idea that human beings tend to perceive things and form ideas based on their experiences of the world around them. It is only through personal experience and quest for knowledge that one can truly attain wisdom and access what is real and true. In Principles of Philosophy, Descartes questions and challenges our beliefs in a bid to free us from the confines of our restrictive thoughts. He believed that we as humans tend to rely more than needed on our senses and stated that it is only when we break away from the messages communicated through our senses that one could truly hope to achieve true knowledge and purely intellectual truths. He calls into question our beliefs and reliance on our senses and doubts everything we know including those beliefs, which are founded on intellectual rationalizations. He argues that the reason one must not rely on one's senses is that individuals have been routinely deceived by their senses and excessive reliance on it is only likely to prevent us from seeking the truth [Des84]. The shadows here refer to an illusion or anything that is a mere replica of the original. The fact that the prisoners are only able to see their own shadows may entail that what they see on the wall is only a reflection of their own thoughts and beliefs, however restricted they may be. The shadows of others i.e., the men passing by behind them or the materials carried by them, refer to the thoughts, ideas and beliefs enforced on them by those behind the prisoners, thus entailing that someone more powerful or free / unchained (in terms of physical movement in literal sense and freedom of thought in a metaphorical one) than them is able to manipulate those who are chained. Socrates states that when any of the prisoners "is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck.... and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows"[PlaCE]. This experience is a natural consequence of being exposed to an entirely new thought, belief or a world of which either one had no knowledge of or of which they were given altered interpretations of the real truth by the puppeteers. The sharp pains and distress is also a natural occurrence which one experiences due to exposure to something one is unfamiliar with. The uneasiness that follows is also due to lack of information or experience to deal with anything new that one encounters – be it a situation or a belief. Today, the rise of the media has made it is easier than ever to access information from around the globe enabling us to 'turn our heads' to see the light or reality as is, rather than be manipulated by the 'truth' as conveyed to us by the puppeteers, which in this case refers to age old beliefs passed on through generations. It includes prejudices against those who are different than us socially as well as culturally. The large scale social movement to seek equality of the genders, the American civil rights movement that helped abolish slavery, as well as social movements led by the LGBT community is a case in point, where people were challenged to turn their heads and break away from the confines of thoughts and beliefs that they were forced to believe since childhood and seek an alternative truth. Applying this allegory in present times one can clearly see the link between the cave and the world we live in. The advent of the Internet, globalization, access to education and information at the click of a button, and improved transportation has liberated us from the caves that we lived in. These technological advances have made it possible for people who were once closed off and restricted from access to outside world beyond their own, to understand the socio-cultural differences and be open to change. For instance, in the real world the media is primarily responsible for both eliminating as well as perpetuating racial and cultural stereotypes. The audience in this case are the prisoners who are made to believe anything being communicated to them over the popular media as the truth. It is only when the audiences try to break free of the confines i.e., challenge or question the images perpetuated by the media and seek the truth themselves through direct communication with the ‘real’ things i.e., people of different races or cultural /ethnic backgrounds that they can break away from the ‘shadows’ and move closer to enlightenment and wisdom. In that sense, the attainment of knowledge refers to the forsaking of the cave i.e., the comfort of ignorance and coming out of it to seek enlightenment and wisdom. Works Cited Descartes, R. (1993). Meditations on First Philosophy. (Cress, D.) Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Locke, J., (1995). An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Prometheus Books Pla87: , (Plato, The trial and death of Socrates, 1887, p. ix), PlaCE: , (Plato, 360 B.C.E), Des84: , (Descartes, 1984, p. 33), PlaCE: , (Plato, 360 B.C.E), Read More