Rene Magritte's This Is Not A Pipe

Rene Magritte a Belgian surrealist artist created a painting of a pipe with the words “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” at the bottom. The phrase translates to “This is not a pipe.” The painting challenges the idea that a visual representation of something and a physical object are the same thing. The image is not a pipe, but a picture of a pipe. This paper will discuss three ideas on why people tend to believe the painting is in fact the same thing as a pipe. First, that reality is a social construct, then the idea of master vs. slave and finally the idea of bounded ethicality.
According to Daniel Graeber, a Media Literacy Professor at Grand Valley State University, reality is a social construct (Class notes). Our perspective is based off our experience.

If one chooses to accept the phrase that then they accept the idea that a person’s reality is formed through experiences, up brining and environment. Therefore, it’s easy to understand why someone would latch on to the notion that the painting is in fact, a pipe. Consider Aristotle, who was a Greek philosopher and scientist, he developed the concept of the “Golden Mean” (Class notes). If you were to think of virtue or truth as being on a scale, according to Aristotle, virtue or truth would be somewhere in the middle, it’s “somewhere” because it’s subjective for everyone. We can never know for certain what the ultimate truth is, therefore if someone were to disagree that the painting of a pipe is in fact a pipe, and not a representation of a pipe, that would be because that is their truth, or their virtue.
Furthermore, Friedrich Nietzsche a German philosopher and scholar suggested that “By morality the individual is taught to become a function of the herd, and to ascribe to himself the value only as a function.”(Nietzche 577). Nietzsche also suggests that each person contains a “Tablet of virtue” or a moral code that is carried unconsciously (Class notes). The “Tablet of Virtue” is relavent to this discussion because of another idea Nietzche presented, the idea of a master/slave relationship. In the contexts of this discussion consider the observer of the painting the slave and whomever holds the an elite position in their life, the master. Now let’s say the master declares that a painting is the same as a physical object, their truth would then be the picture is in fact a pipe. They have accepted this truth because they want to reflect the truth of their master because they aspire to be their master. They have also unconsciously accepted a “Tablet of Virtue” which reflects that of their master.
The final explaniation to why someone would hold fast to the idea the paintng is in fact a pipe is centered around Philosopher Dolly Chugh. Chugh presents an idea called bounded ethicality, she says
“We argue that individuals view themselves as moral, competent, and deserving and this view obstructs their ability to see and recognize conflicts of interest when they occur.” (Chugh 75).
Meaning we go through life on autopilot. We subconsciously accept what is placed in front of us because of biases embedded deep within us. Relating this back to the painting of the pipe. Those who reject the idea that the painting is not a pipe may be doing so because unconsciously we are confined to our own reality.