Saturday, January 4, 2020

The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato - 1511 Words

In our class, we read three powerful and meaningful texts. We started by reading The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived from 428-347 B.C.E. This text led to our reading of The Four Idols by Francis Bacon, an English philosopher who came much later than Plato and lived from 1562 to 1626. Lastly, we read The Word Weavers/World Makers by Neil Postman, who lived from 1931-2003. There seems to be a recurring theme in which they themselves deal with ideas of knowledge and illusions. These illusions and false perceptions are analogous to a veil or a curtain that we can break through to find further truth in our reality. While separated by time, these authors are able to come to a similar understanding in their†¦show more content†¦We should apply words to correct our errors and not enforce them. While reading these texts, they all brought my mind to new approaches of understanding. Bacon’s four idols are examples of how our perception distorts knowledge and we create false truths about what we wish to perceive. This text titled The Four Idols consists of the Idols of the Tribe, Idols of the Cave, Idols of the Marketplace, and the Idols of the Theater. I will use Bacons Idols as an outline for relating Plato and Postman. We put our perception in front of what is truly there, â€Å"like a false mirror† (Bacon 882) that we use to distort knowledge to fit what we believe. Bacon denoted the Idol of the Tribe as mistakes that all humans contain. He says, â€Å"For it is false assertions that the sense of man is the measure of things† (Bacon 882). In addition states, â€Å"senses as of the mind are according to the measure of the individual not the measure of the universe† (Bacon 882). As our beliefs grow stronger we create false notions to support them through means of exaggeration and assumption, without carefully analyzing the evidence. The Idol of the Tribe can easily relate to Plato’s allegory, similar to the prisoners in the cave, they watch the shadows without inquiry into what else there is and not wanting to explore. They have assumed without further searching that this was their reality. Bacon

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