The Myth of the Cave. The role of philosophers and educators in Essay

The Myth of the Cave. The role of philosophers and educators in society - Essay Example Throughout the life of humans, they come to know certain things as they found them to be. They proceed to believe that these things are the truth and reality. When they come to be told the truth, they reject it because it is a contradiction of what they know. Ignorance has been said to be bliss. That is what makes people not to see the truth. That is why they vehemently reject the truth. Different people have different perceptions of the truth. That is why there are those who will want to go and look for the truth outside the cave, and those who believe that the truth is in fact inside the cave (Watt, 25). Teachers have to realize the dangers of giving an education that is different from what others receive. Education should not compel us to believe in one single thing. It should in fact encourage us to go and find out the truth for ourselves. All that we merely see is not necessarily the reality. It might just be that we are so used to seeing it that we believe it is the ultimate truth. This is the danger that educationists need to eliminate. They need to encourage and promote the search for the truth. In current times, this can be aided by proper research. Education should not merely be an exercise of imparting already existing knowledge. It should not be an activity of coercing other to believe in one thing. It should be a process of facilitating research and self reliance. It should promote the search for the ultimate truth (Watt, 23).... The reading describes a scenario whereby what is taken to be real by most people may just be a mere illusion. ‘All people living in a cave’ is taken to represent the high levels of ignorance among humans. Human beings are in total darkness. The truth is just near them yet they have refused to embrace it. ‘Being chained on their necks and legs’ represents the unwillingness of humans to accept useful change. It shows that unless they take action, they are bound to ignorance. They have to free themselves from the caves otherwise they will always be prisoners of ignorance. The prisoners watching the shadows on the wall means that this is what they think the world is. The shadows which they see on the walls are what represent reality to them. They do not know any other truth. This is what they have known the world to be since they were born. Their conceptions and understanding of the world are skewed and misinformed. Their unwillingness and reluctance to leave th e cave is all as a result of ignorance. In the cave, all that the humans see is a mere reflection of what reality is. What they see is not reality. It is a mere illusion (Watt, 25). This is what the shadows represent. The shadows are like a mirage that tries to depict reality. Ignorance is very prevalent and humans do not want to let go of it. It is the duty of philosophers and educators to liberate these humans from the darkness. The truth can only be obtained by these philosophers. The senses of human beings skew and misconceive reality. Humans are so ignorant to the extent that they would reject a prisoner who left the cave to go and experience the real world in search of the truth. The prisoners represent the humans who are slaves of ignorance. They shun