Essay #2: Analysis/Argument
Plato puts forwards a theory on human perception in the “Allegory of the Cave”. Plato uses the prisoner’s metaphor in a dark cave to further elucidate the difficulties in reaching and sustaining enlightenment. In his text, Plato claims that knowledge gained through a person’s senses is equivalent to the opinions of themselves and others. Therefore, Plato argues that real knowledge can only be attained through philosophical reasoning. David Foster Wallace, on the other hand, argues against unconsciousness resulting from the default setting and the relentless troubling sense of having had and lost something infinite. For one to be educated and free, they must be disciplined and promote awareness and genuinely care about other people, and sacrifice for these people daily. By embracing the journey to enlightenment, a new world would be created where the individuals are liberated, self-conscious, and have a broader outlook on life while the society is full of peace, and growth from creative thinking among its members.
Embracing the journey towards enlightenment will help an individual look at their environment differently from their default settings. Most people in the world have just one outlook on life as Chimamanda notes in her speech. For example, she addresses the notion that the world has about Africans as being “pitiable poor” (Adichie n.p). Seeking enlightenment introduces a broader perspective to the human spectrum. This will enable individuals to experience different histories, customs, and cultures, and further provide valuable insights into people’s lives. Having a different outlook on life also stimulates one to learn new things which lead to growth in different ways from what is considered normal. An individual will also get to learn about themselves. Experiencing different a schools of thought, customs, and cultures, different from one’s default settings will enable an individual to determine what they value in life and build on being present in one’s lives. Moving from one’s default setting also enables the individual to appreciate the lives they lead. Sometimes, over-indulging in one’s environment may cause one to forget about their privilege and take things for granted. This promotes happiness among people by replacing complaints with gratitude.
Obtaining enlightenment also enhances the consciousness and awareness among individuals (Wallace 1). Self-awareness is defined as the ability to clearly understand oneself through an objective introspection of one’s character. Self-awareness promotes emotional intelligence, which allows individuals to regulate their emotions and those of other people. Moreover, Individuals who have attained the highest levels of awareness learn how to think.
Learning to think means having some form of control over how and what a person thinks. So many people in the world are unaware of the impact that their ideas and thoughts could make in the world and instead, they simply react to what other people have created. Learning to think also enhances creativity, which in the long run, results in beneficial projects and products that humanity has enjoyed for decades. Embracing the journey to enlightenment will, therefore, bring joy in one’s life and help make positive changes in other people’s lives, despite their reactions.
This is evident by the caveman that managed to escape from the cave and discovered a world that shocked him. He later returned to his cave and enlightened other prisoners of his discoveries. However, the prisoners threatened to murder him if he even tried to free them, as they were yet to receive the necessary enlightenment (Hamilton and Cairns, 747).
Embracing the journey to enlightenment will see a society where the individuals are at peace with each other and where people are aware of their true reality and living in the present. Enlightenment ejects members of society out of an imaginary world, which Plato metaphorically refers to as imprisonment in the cave. The cave people believe that they can see the “truth” just like a majority of the people believe in and pursue shadows based on fame, love, money, education, and so on. These are usually ideas that people learned from social norms and other childhood factors. Unfortunately, this type of thinking leads to mediocrity as missed opportunities by thinking in the past or future, rather than living in the present. This has led to unhappiness among people, leading to numerous cases of depression and other forms of mental illnesses.
Finally, society’s journey to enlightenment will see the society enjoy a growth social, economic, and political development from increasing creativity among its members. Enlightenment will open society’s mind to a world full of ideas. Society will benefit from people who have escaped the common thinking mentality. A huge percentage of people will benefit society by acting and thinking differently from the crowd. These people will no longer exist in the shadows of their realities. However, members of society will indeed step out of the comfort zones and uncover the actual realities of life. Society will have numerous individuals who view life as having endless possibilities and have gone ahead to change history through their inventions and innovations.
Society will experience growth by encouraging its members to question all the assumptions on reality. This will help them gain the skills needed to think of themselves and discover unique solutions aimed at solving the problems. The more the members of society are enlightened, the less likely the society is at making errors in judgment and bad decisions.
In conclusion, like any other journey, growth and enlightenment begin with a step. Plato calls for philosophical thinking as a way of reaching full enlightenment. On the other hand, Wallace believes that enlighten is a result of changing one’s default thinking, and embracing a new thought process. The journey of enlightenment requires a person to break free of all notions and preconceived ideas that are in one’s mind. Through this process, one has to be in tune with their surroundings and aware of the whole range of opportunities. An enlightened individual enjoys a better decision-making process, is happier and more in tune with their environment, which helps them learn about their environment and themselves. Moreover, the outcome of the journey to enlightenment in society is growth from its creative citizens, peace, and numerous innovations. Society must encourage people to step out of their comfort zones, and the rewards are always worth it. Moreover, one has to understand that changing their environment will lead to criticism, and people’s opinions might convince a person to go back to their wayward thinking pattern.
Works Cited
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The danger of a single story.” (2009).
Hamilton, E., and H. Cairns. “Plato: The Collected Dialogues, 1963.” Ewing, New Jersey: Princeton UP.
Wallace, David Foster. This is water: Some thoughts, delivered on a significant occasion, about living a compassionate life. Hachette UK, 2009.