Empiricism In Allegory Of The Cave

NOBODY IS BORN WITH INNATE KNOWLEDGE. All knowledge, ideas, and concepts including talents and skills are learned from experience.

From this argument, two distinct sides form; Rationalism and Empiricism. Rationalism argues the idea that human beings have some universal knowledge, such as reasoning, mathematics, and ethics, which is then forgotten at birth and only uncovered by experience derived from the senses.

Empiricism conveys the opposite idea, stating that our minds are blank slates from birth, with sensory experience providing the opportunity to deduce and reason more complex ideas.

Plato believed that two worlds existed, the world of the forms (a separate realm of existence where the perfect essences of human concepts exist) and

Like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, there is a possibility that what you’re perceiving right now is actually false, and you haven’t realised it yet. Descartes targeted empirical belief – the beliefs formed through our senses. There are multiple occasions in which our senses fail us, such as when we see someone we know, only to realise we’ve tapped on the shoulder of a complete stranger. This lead Descartes to coin the term; ‘I think therefore I am’ (Descartes, 1637) with the ‘absolute certainty of the knowledge of our existence is far beyond what our sense can provide.’ (PBS Digital Studios,

As an example, upon viewing three different artworks, I perceive through the colour and texture that I like the first artwork the most. I then create my own artwork mirroring the firsts technique and present it to a panel of judges. It’s well received and many rationalists would believe that I have an innate talent for creating beautiful artworks. Yet, whether my artwork is good or not, is actually dependant on the perception of the judges. If they like my artwork the most, then my perception of a good work of art is the same as the judge's perception of a good work of art, thus disapproving the concept of innate