Fear is a useful emotion that allows for humans to react promptly in the presence of
danger, but it can also be the crutch that makes humans defend their faith with blood and sweat
instead of reason and logic. It has taken mankind various attempts to understand the position of
the earth in the universe, and life’s of individuals like Galileo to acknowledge the round shape of
the planet. Now, the word ignorance could be used to describe the generations before that had
held such childish beliefs, however our generation is not immune to remaining scared of what
may lay in the unconscious. The reality we form is based on what can be described through our
five senses, but who is to say there is no experience that eludes mankind and
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his conscious state. The theories of Plato, Freud, and Jung serve as a reflection of a society attempting to understand the unconscious mind and they allow for further examination of a reality created by a conscious population.
The society Plato describes in his Allegory is restricted to a life of darkness and
immobility, similar to humans being limited to sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. If an
individual was to remove himself from such a limited perception then the results are similar to
being ostracized or being exiled from society. Plato explains that by clinging to the past
knowledge “Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that
it was better not even to think of ascending…” (870). The Conviction in humans to rely on
conscious knowledge is so crucial to the advancement of society that any other knowledge
gained through a different means is labeled a fantasy or an illusion. The masses require that any
new gained perspective must also support previous ideas and therefore previous beliefs remain as
absolute truths on the basis of time. In the subject of providing psychological support Jung
explains how “Apparently we are to fall back on some nebulous trust in fate; somehow or other
the matter will settle itself” (933).The trust that is given to the past without question about its
logic leads us to behave in ways that differ very little from the rituals of human sacrifice.
The limits imposed by a blind trust in the rituals and customs of our ancestors has forced humans into the habit of conforming to the standards of a failing society rather than diversifying and innovating to thrive in peril. Each generation has a burden to carry and the form in which we respond must change from an emotional reaction to a logical one. The tie that humans have with emotions has worked for years to increase the survival of the species, but the yearning for comfort in an environment that ceases to remain constant creates an imbalance that we must learn to cope with. Freud illustrates how knowledge of the unknown is gained “Just as in the case of a neurosis — we only learn of its existence from its inhibiting consequences” (921). In this case we become conscious of the existing illness in an unusual manner, it is the diminishing traits that expose the illness. The ability to determine an illness through the absence of a trait requires a form of acknowledging the information that the conscious senses would normally overlook. Jung then exposes the limits of attaining knowledge by noting “that the unconscious also contains components that have not yet reached the threshold of consciousness” (930). The information that eludes a person that follows a strict guide that is based on what is consciously available can only lead to an incomplete reality. The conscious information held by a population could be as limited as to create a response that is incompetent and unfit for the task at hand. The Population could argue that creating a society based on a truth that is always shifting and refuses to remain constant is not the ideal foundation for building a community. It could be responded that a foundation based in false and ignorant beliefs is worse as it leads to a false sense of accomplishment and progress. The need for a stable foundation on which to live by is important, “I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner” (Plato 870). While living a lie may comfort the individual and give a sense of control the results of denying the unconscious reality lead to a life of misery and ignorance. The ignorance is fueled by a need to justify the events in the conscious reality with other false beliefs, the cycle goes from false beliefs to a false sense of control. Freud goes to claim that the manipulation of knowledge or “The attempt to harmonize divine omnipotence with human responsibility must naturally fail in connection with this subject matter just as with any other” (921). The manipulation of knowledge so as to comfort the population is destined to fail because it is built on a foundation that will crumble, as reality is not controlled by the wishes of mankind to remain comfortable. By denying the constant change of reality and creating an ideal environment by eluding the unconscious we remain as ignorant as those who believed the earth to be flat. The belief in our conscious perspective is responsible for making assumptions that hold no truth. The lack of awareness of the unconscious also drives our actions in forms that include mate selection or the stereotypical response. The unconscious creates ideal personas and imposes them on others, “In him the opposites are united, and for this reason he stands for a quasi- ideal solution of the conflict” (Jung 932). The creation of false images and ideas that slip our awareness may be the result of unresolved conflicts, these conflicts allow for the unconscious to play a role in our daily lives. If an effort is made to understand the role that an unconscious individual has in society then and only then will we be allowed to change such actions. This struggle to become aware of the unconscious holds rewards that include freedom from a system of failure. The conscious human is liberated from the system of government “In which men fight with one another about shadows only and are distracted in the struggle for power…” (Plato 874). The liberty gained from refusing to accept an absolute truth on the basis of faith is similar to the removal of chains on prisoners. These references set upon by a generation before us may serve as the basis of future knowledge but allowing them to be claims of truth only serves humans as restrictions to the awareness of the unconscious reality. It is a difficult task to remove the trait of emotions in humans from the field of education but becoming conscious of the limits it imposes on knowledge is far more important. The first step that can be taken in creating an environment that allows for society to progress is acknowledging the unconscious reality. Founding our knowledge on our conscious senses is important and necessary but allowing them to be our only form of acquiring information has its faults. They allow a reality based on incomplete information to thrive and humans to progress towards a society of ignorance and stereotypical actions. The greatest harm that results from a biased form of thought is thrusted upon the female gender, the stereotypes that carry over from generations creates a limit on the female population. The conscious and unconscious reliance of stereotypes displayed in today’s society are constantly limiting the diversity and innovation that could be brought to various fields of study by women.
...so that they lose themselves in it. Hence, hardships test out that the ones who lose belief lose oneself, the ones who keep belief hold one’s own.
Man has always been driven to create. We constantly shape the world around us by inventing stories of heroes and monsters, by crafting complex but passionate ideals about good and evil. Some relish in the power that this manipulation of reality wields; others are more innocent in that they are simply yielding to a universal longing for something in which to believe.
Once eaten, man became “fallen” and subject to the struggles of Earthly life. Similarly, knowledge and all other pursuits are tempting, yet dangerous as they often lead us to unpleasant
These theoretical concepts developed by Dr. Jung are what caused the hypothesis and negativity of my original consideration of him to be replaced by a deep respect and, in fact, an almost gleeful fascination with his work. I am discovering that quite a few people find that Jung has a great deal to say to them. This tends to include writers, artists, musicians, film makers, theologians, clergy of all denominations, students of mythology, and of course, and many psychologists
One of the most complex emotions in existence, fear is the primary emotion that triggers any kind of change, as it is capable of linking with any existing emotion to create entirely different lives upon lives. For any change that happens, fear is always present to turn the tide whichever way it pleases.
In this sense, we seek to confirm the information presented is reliable or valid in order to obtain self-wisdom or for the purpose to educate others. This viewpoint intends to explicate the discovery of reality and its acceptance or rejection by the prisoners. The escapee discovers reality and upon his return to the cave he attempts to educate the other prisoners on his findings. However, his message is rejected in this case. The rejection stems from the level of comfort already in place and the prisoners find familiarity triumphs over newly discovered information. From this perspective, the escapee represents two distinct views that are to educate others of his new discovery in recognizing what they believed to be true as not the case or be refuted by others electing to remain in bondage. In this sense the escapee may elect to return to bondage, or seek out his or her release with more ambition. The escapee may elect to educate others of his or her findings or simply obtain information for self-wisdom. The escapee was able to break free from bondage and seek out facts, data, or truths to support what had been presented prior to his escape. However, there is a level of comfort with what is familiar which at times individuals have no desire to seek otherwise. Again, this reverts back to comfort and familiarity. In this case, the prisoners desire to remain self-restrained by his or her own free will and stay content with the existing state of affairs. This demonstrates how we can be stubborn, which is our worst enemy to
that it "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient
What fear is. Fear is the reply to when someone is intimidated by something that 's immediately going to harm their well-being. For example, a dog barking at a person and chasing them down the street. That person would feel dread, which would then give them the desire to protect themselves. In a fear situation, that desire turns into the fight or flight response. We either fight off the danger or we run and hide from it (Lamia). This response is considered a fear response because of the quickness of the reaction time; it happens immediately after the danger is sensed.
But still, people fear things that would not even harm them, such as insects or heights. These fears just cause problems for people and can even cause harm in a person’s life. One way in which fear is harmful is that it clouds people’s judgement. Fear can influence a person’s judgement, causing them to not think clearly about certain things. In the article “Why Are Millennials Wary of Freedom” by Clay Routledge, the author explains why millennials are so willing to give up their freedom of speech. According to the article, the millennials’ “fear causes [them] to privilege psychological security over liberty” (Routledge). Their fear of getting offended by other people’s speech leads to their judgement being clouded. That is why they would rather have the government regulate what they say than keep their freedom of speech. For this reason, fear is a harmful emotion. The article also mentioned that many millennials “agreed it was acceptable for student groups to use violence to prevent a person from speaking” (Routledge). The millennials’ fear of getting offended by another person’s views is so great that they are willing to encroach on a person’s freedom of speech by
Occasionally a prisoner is forced to leave the cave. They have to be compelled to leave the world they know. Socrates relates to Glaucon the result of one of the prisoners
In it, Plato asks the reader to imagine human beings living in an underground den. [where] they have been from childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and [there is] a low wall. [with] men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues a...
We have several theories about fear like the fear appeal theory. Fear appeals are generally built upon fear. Fear is generally an unpleasant state of emotion characterized by expectation of great distress or pain and escorted by sharp autonomic activity particularly consist...
What contributes to human wisdom? Gathering and sharing of knowledge over time may have been a big contributor to the
Plato, a student of Socrates, in his book “The Republic” wrote an allegory known as “Plato's Cave”. In Plato's allegory humans are trapped within a dark cave where they can only catch glimpses of the world above through shadows on the wall.2 Plato is describing how the typical human is. They have little knowledge and what they think they know has very little basis in fact. He describes these people as prisoners, in his allegory, and they are only free when they gain knowledge of the world above the cave.
“When we sense danger, the body’s defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction.” (Smith)