The Allegory of the Cave was my first introduction to Plato... and I am (not surprisingly) impressed with his analogy regarding human perception. Of course the chained prisoners would be bewildered when forced to question what seemed like a perfectly reasonable sense of existance. Of course a drastic change of view is confounding and not easily understood. Of course, once exposed to a different & more authentic sense of "The Truth" (TM), one may never regress to one's former constructed reality.
As we discussed in class earlier today, the chains may be representative of many things: our environment, ideologies, education, health, status... anything at all that contributes to our individual world-views. It was helpful to hear Lauren point out that Plato made a very important distintion... that reality and our opinion of it are often two entirely different animals. Our proverbial chains exist whether we want them or not; it is simply part of the human condition to be influenced by our sensory/emotional experiences. However, if we simply keep this very fact in mind, then we are on the path to enlightenment... for only then may we question our experiences as reflecting that which is valid and true.
In our class discussion, there was an implied link between the scholar-king and the role of the artist. I found it interesting to think of us, as artists, to be the ones who are responsible for playing the role of the "mirror-holder" for society...
What mirror shall any of us present?
Will it be clear? Warped? Soiled, perhaps? Small or large? Ornate... or simple?
...And furthermore- what will the viewer choose to see reflected back at them?
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