Brianna Flanagan
PHILOS 101 Tues. 6:30-9:35pm
Enlightenment as a Choice
“The unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato 35). One of the most well known philosophers of all time, Socrates, believed that the purpose of human life was spiritual growth and the betterment of one’s soul, as well as seeking wisdom and truth. Huxley’s Brave New World, Plato’s “Allegory of The Cave” and “The Apology”, depict realities in which mankind is not allowed to think freely or seek enlightenment.
In Brave New World, “Controllers” rule the world to insure social stability by conditioning mankind’s thoughts, that is, what to believe, what ideas hold value, what brings happiness and even the work each citizen is destined to do in life. Society is set
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up in a five tier caste system, The Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Individuals in Brave New World are born into their caste. Alphas being the highest Caste, getting the highest jobs in the world state, and the Epsilons being the lowest, receiving the worst, least skilled jobs in the world state. This is similar to our own society in the way people were born into Castes in ancient India, restricting economic progress. (Oliver, 1) The caste system also inhibits economic progress in Brave New World by preventing those of lower castes from going up to a higher status. Brave New World depicts a society that is conditioned by a false sense of happiness and a lack of a basic human right- free will. From the moment they are born, individuals are brainwashed by hypnopaedia, a sleep teaching that conditions the individual to believe a certain way or a certain value (Huxley 47). Members of society are almost like prisoners, being held captive from thinking freely. They are prevented from evolving as human beings and from seeking wisdom and truth. In “Allegory of the Cave”, the cave does the same to mankind. Reality is bleak, and humans are trapped in a dark cave, prisoners; unable to experience anything other than their own shadows on the wall of the cave. It narrates a perception of the behavior of life. They are not able to experience any alternate reality and prevented from seeking wisdom and truth. The Apology”, is a speech in which Socrates gave as he was on trial in Athens for “corrupting the youth of Athens” and “not recognizing the gods” (Plato, 35). Although titled “The Apology”, Socrates speech was far from one. The title “The Apology”, derives from the greek “apologia” which directly translates as defense. Socrates gave a defense and believed that the unexamined life, life without awareness, wisdom and truth, is not worth living (Plato, 35). But Socrates was put to death standing behind those beliefs in Athens, in “The greatest city with the greatest reputation for both wisdom and power” (Plato, 34) Both Brave New World and “Allegory of the Cave” contain an element used to “enslave” society. In Allegory of the Cave, the small confined space of the cave is a way to keep restraint, and in Brave New World, Soma is used as a restraint-to numb society. Brave New World and “Allegory of the Cave” also share similarities in the way that humans live in false realities. The people within those worlds would not view their own happiness as actual happiness if they had the freedom of choice and the opportunity to experience a different reality. This brings up the topic of what is valuable, and what is true happiness. In Brave New World, a good life is filled with stability, and that very stability depends on inequality. As the controller in Brave New World spoke, “The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get, and if anything should go wrong, there’s soma.” (Huxley, 220). Brave New World is built on consumerism, where beautiful things such as literature are banned, because things that are meant to last—simply cannot be. The world needs their citizens to constantly be needing and wanting new things. This in turn, makes things of newness hold real value in the world. This is demonstrated when The Controller explains that “We haven’t any use for old things here. Particularly when they’re beautiful. Beauty’s attractive, and we don’t want people to be attracted by old things. We want them to like the new ones” (Huxley, 219) Within all of these narratives, there is an underlying similarity in each plot. A society that strives for control, characters that are conditioned to think a certain way and act a certain way, but in some cases break free from that very control. A good example of that, is the character John the Savage in Brave New World. John has the opportunity of seeing two different realities in Brave New World. The mainstream world that most of society is entrapped in, and the world of the savages. John is one of the only characters who has the chance to experience two different realities. He grew up on a reservation, far different from what the state created for the bulk of society, a world under false pretences with ignorant citizens. Despite the fact that John the Savage has the opportunity to experience two different ways of existence, the same isn’t true for those in “Allegory of the Cave.” The cave is all they know. Their experiences are merely a shadow on a wall, but because they have not experienced a different reality their own is not unsatisfactory. Although Brave New World functions on social stability, that wasn’t always the case.
The story begins shortly after a nine year war, before the world was stable. Brave New World shifted the way it fundamentally operates to become a stable society, and live by the motto community, identity, stability (Huxley, 1). “The Apology” took place during a war on economic power. A passionate, strong willed man like Socrates threatened Athen’s social stability, and he was scrutinized for following his beliefs. These similarities demonstrate that mankind is not allowed to think freely or seek enlightenment, for they would threaten society’s …show more content…
stability. The way Brave New World operates is a fascinating thing to think about. What is particularly intriguing about Brave New World, is that it is almost a mirror of our own world, but with some of the worst, most exaggerated possible qualities. Most people would not want to live in a world where great literature is banned, where no one has a mother, father, or children. Those are all things in the “real world” that bring us happiness. There is no depth in Brave New World. From Socrates perspective, the world of Brave New World would hold no real value.
Socrates believed there were two ways to live and and only one way to calculate value. The superficial way-believing that wealth, reputation, and honors (all exterior measures) held the real value. And on an interior level- having wisdom, truth, and the best state of your soul. The book certainly makes you question what you personally find to be valuable.
In current society, happiness is almost contingent on a lack of reality. The phrase “Ignorance is Bliss” is proved to be true in many cases. People would rather be happy than aware. We are well on our way to creating our own Brave New World. Our society strives for efficiency, and speed, quantity over quality. We are driven by convenience and comfort, operating like a conveyer belt which mirrors the way humans are produced in Brave New
World. Whether it was intentional or not, Huxley wrote a piece that contained similar elements and similar messages in Brave New World to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and The Apology. A life of truth, happiness, wisdom, self awareness, enlightenment, filled with deep emotions, family, relationships and love were not present or allowed in those plots. Huxley’s narrative is much more relatable to people in some aspects than Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” or “The Apology.” The narrative is presented with real life relatable characters, with many common human behaviors we all bare witness to today. The deeper question is, if the things believed to be of true value are not allowed in a universe, is that life worth living?
The society uses one’s happiness to seek their own. Starting with the ancient Adam Smith’s theory of a market economy where commodities are sold and bought in a market freely, where sellers and buyers exchange to achieve profit, and happiness is derived from profit. Thus “happiness is both produced and consumed” (Ahmed 3). Happiness is a matter of research for corporates of big companies. They try to figure out which product makes the buyers feel the happiness they need, so that they can produce more for their own profit. So, they cunningly make commercials with people having a good time. Which when watched by the buyers they get the false sense that their life would be so much better if they bought that small bottle of happiness. Once they buy their “Pandora’s box” they hope that underneath all the unnecessary objects there will be happiness, but they are dispirited at the end. Unknowingly the markets are making the society a more dull and sad place rather than distributing
Plato’s "Apology" gives the substance of the defense made by Socrates to the Athenians at his trial. Meletus, Anytus and Lyncon brought Socrates to court on charges of corrupting the morals of the youth, leading the youth away from the principals of democracy, neglecting the Gods of the State and introducing new divinities.
Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” explains his beliefs on education of one’s soul and the core of the way they shape themselves. The rhetorical devices that Plato represents inside of his story explains how much freedom is worth in this world. The deeper meaning inside of what Plato describes can further be found out once a reader realizes the type of rhetorical devices are being used. For example, Plato portrays prisoners being locked inside of a cave without a way out. These prisoners never got to see the outside world, yet he mentions they “see shadows” which explains they are only able to catch a glimpse of reality from the outside. Plato’s use of imagery gives us a mental picture on the tease we may feel to notice reality but not be able to experience it. In reality, we do not value freedom as much as we are supposed to. We seem to not see the world as he sees it. With the help of personification, Plato uses human like characteristics to describe non-living things to give
Through my study of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Saint Augustine’s “The Confessions”, I discovered that both text involve a journey of finding real truths before acquiring a faith. This suggests that faith and reason are compatible because one must embark on journey in which they are educated about real truths before they are able to acquire a faith.
... a criminal matter nor a strain on the Athenian society, but a challenge to an oppressive and aristocracy ruling class. Socrates became a symbol of true wisdom and knowledge, a symbol that needed to be disposed of for the elites to remain the power holders in society.
Freedom in mind, freedom in nature, and freedom in subjectivity of individual are three kinds of freedoms. However, freedom should be expressed within the limits of reason and morality. Having freedom equals having the power to think, to speak, and to act without externally imposed restrains. As a matter of fact, finding freedom in order to live free is the common idea in Plato with "The Allegory of the Cave"; Henry David Thoreau with " Where I lived and What I lived for"; and Jean Paul Sartre with " Existentialism". Generally, Plato, Thoreau, and Sartre suggested that human life should be free. They differ in what that freedom is. Plato thinks it is found in the world of intellect, Thoreau thinks freedom is found in nature, and Sartre thinks freedom is found in subjectivity of individual.
What is truly real, and what is not? This question is one which has been pondered deeply throughout human history, and it seemingly has no definitive answer. To understand what is truly a part of reality, and what isn’t, may be an impossible feat. However, two famous works created by humans from two distant time periods attempt to dissect and analyze this philosophical question. The first, The Allegory of the Cave, was written by the great Greek philosopher, Plato, who was born in 428 B.C. in Athens, Greece. The Allegory of the Cave is a piece of a larger work of Plato’s, The Republic, which is a collection of works concerning political philosophy. The Republic is his most famous work and what he is best known for in today’s world. The second
"The Allegory of the Cave" and "The Apology" by Plato explore the methods in which people for themselves, usually through the cultivation of the soul. "The Allegory of the Cave" employs an allegory to highlight the importance of the soul, while "The Apology" focuses on Plato 's beloved mentor, Socrates, and his views on tur value of the soul. Both allegory and dialogue seek to stress the importance of the truth to caring for one 's self. The pursuit of the truth and the care of the self are intricately intertwined; one cannot do without the other. Additionally, both pieces challenge the reader from their complacency and forces them to re-evaluate their lives, calling for lives that better cultivate the soul and take care of the self. From
The meaning of happiness is a vague concept. Mankind has always tried to achieve this state of well-being, even though there isn’t a clear definition. Brave New World tells the story of a society where there is nothing but happiness, just like a utopia, but it is considered a dystopian setting by the modern society. In modern society, there is a simple road that most people follow to achieve happiness: earning enough money for education, getting a university degree, a prestigious and high-paying job, and a stable marriage. To some, the road is mostly about finding ways to earn and spend money.
The authoritarian state in Brave New World is obsessed with making people “happy” even if
In the contemporary world , culture refers to something as vast as the distinctive way of life of an entire community. Culture is everywhere and everyone has it; it is the mass of ideas, traditions, habits, stories, beliefs, and perspectives on life passed on to us from generation to generation through literature, language, art, myth, religion, family, and various other social institutions. Plato had many different ideas when it comes to human behavior and philosophy. Some of those things can be applied to today’s society, some of them can’t. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which is probably his most famous theory, as well as Krishnamurti’s essay on cultural conditioning of a mind, they both focus on cultural values and living within a culture and can still be seen in today’s society.
In the essay “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato addresses how humans generally do not pursue knowledge. Most humans are satisfied with what they already know and do not want to expand their knowledge. Plato uses simple examples to help the reader understand his logic on why humans do not expand their knowledge.
The concepts of the Utopian society placed in Aldous Huxley’s novel, A Brave New World, reflect the fearful thoughts of the future of our society and mirror certain components of the present. Certain concepts of the great society in the novel are severe and do not apply to our society, but components of these ideas are increasingly being dispersively observed throughout our present society. The warnings developed by Huxley are reflected in the present through the intellectual castes of the workforce, the concept of sex being less based on marriage, and the mind being enslaved by conditioning.
Do we really understand the world we live in and see everyday? Is our everyday perception of reality a misinterpretation, which somehow we can’t break free from? A famous Greek philosopher by the name of Plato sought out to explain this in an experiment he called the Cave Allegory. I will discuss what the Cave Allegory is as well as talk about the movie Interstellar, which is a great example of Plato’s Cave Allegory and how it relates to Plato’s ideas. The question we have to answer first is, what is Plato’s Cave Allegory?
For years, authors and philosophers have satirized the “perfect” society to incite change. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley describes a so-called utopian society in which everyone is happy. This society is a “controlled environment where technology has essentially [expunged] suffering” (“Brave New World”). A member of this society never needs to be inconvenienced by emotion, “And if anything should go wrong, there's soma” (Huxley 220). Citizens spend their lives sleeping with as many people as they please, taking soma to dull any unpleasant thoughts that arise, and happily working in the jobs they were conditioned to want. They are genetically altered and conditioned to be averse to socially destructive things, like nature and families. They are trained to enjoy things that are socially beneficial: “'That is the secret of happiness and virtue – liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny'” (Huxley 16). Citizens operate more like machinery, and less like humans. Humanity is defined as “the quality of being human” (“Humanity”). To some, humanity refers to the aspects that define a human: love, compassion and emotions. Huxley satirizes humanity by dehumanizing the citizens in the Brave New World society.