From what I have come to interpret of Plato’s allegory, he depicts humans as prisoners who, through birth to all their life, have been imprisoned in a cave chained with their backs to the exit, only seeing barrages of shadows on the wall of the cave from the light and real life outside. Throughout their life they see different forms of shadows, attached to each of which is a different sound. They thus form different perceptions for each of the shadows from ‘what they see’. All this remains the same, the mass accepting life/lie as such, until one moment, when one of the prisoner upon pondering that there has to be more to the world, is set free. He gushes towards the exit and after some troubles in coming to grips with real light and life, is enchanted and mesmerized. He travels afar, experiencing new things, relating real life to the shadows and sounds he perceived, humbly acknowledging the limitations of his mind whilst he was in the cave, whilst he was a prisoner.
He returns to the cave to share his experiences and free his fellow beings there but is only pushed away, cast a madman, for the mass is not only ignorant to the limitation, but hostile towards its defense.
We’re all a sum of reactions to our experiences. This seemingly abstract phrase, from what I have learned and now think I know, governs us, humans. It directly roots from biology of how our brain works.
“WHAT YOU SEE IS ALL THERE IS”. Be wary of constructing a story based only on what you see you may not realize what you don’t know.
– D.Kahneman
We all develop an understanding unique to our own experiences and perceive the world around accordingly. And as such, it is foolish to avoid all criticism, and throw away what you have, because you can’t.
If you don’t understand what something means, there is no danger of misinterpretation. The problem is, we always think we know what something means.