HU250 – section number
Introduction:
One of the most famous concepts in philosophy is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, described in his book The Republic. In this allegory, he describes a situation in which there are prisoners in a cave, not knowing of the reality and nature of light and thinks of the shadow puppets that they are used to seeing as reality, even though in fact it is a mere manifestation of it. Next, he outlines a situation wherein a prisoner is freed and gets familiar with the light, and thus sees things in a new way. He then summarizes that when he goes back in the cave and tells of the things he sees, the other prisoners will be afraid because their concept of reality is challenged by someone who has truly seen it.
Overall, this allegory can be explained in many different aspects in our life. The whole scenario is similar to situations when we think of things based on what we observe about them, only for our impressions to change once we have actually experienced it. In other words, this is a metaphor for education—it makes you see things in a whole new light. In this essay, I will relate the allegory to that moment when I first started to exercise.
One of the times in which I considered that I was in the cave was during the early part of my life, when I was not into physical activity that much. I thought of exercise as a very unstimulating activity, and so I stayed away from playing sports and games which require physical interaction. As a result, I became weak and no one would pick me in gym class, thus perpetuating the cycle. In my avoidance of physical activity, I have chained myself from the light. I instead saw the ‘shadows’—I learned that exercising is good for the body, but I figured that I can get healthy without it. I heard it gives you a great figure, but I did not bother since I seem to be in good health. At that point in time, this was my reality—I was content in my state, and viewed healthy living as a mere ‘shadow’. I am familiar with the outlines of it, but never knew it that well.
My prisoner state continued until I became fat due to lack of physical activity. Because I became sedentary, I became physically challenged and unhealthy. I became depressed for a period of time until it dawned on me that for me to change, I must do something about myself.
First, I focused on my appearance. I researched about lessons and found that in order to become healthier, diet is not enough; exercise is also required. I entered a gym membership and struggled to lift the weights at first, but I knew that I will get better over time. I also changed my mindset about my health. I began to count calories, and stayed away from unhealthy foods. At first, it felt mentally and physically exhausting, just like how a prisoner is temporarily blinded when he sees the fire and the light. After a while though, my body got used to it and then soon enough I was one of the people who see exercising as a way of life.
Once I started adopting a healthier lifestyle, people started complimenting and asked how I did it. When I tell them about my regimen, they often respond that such a lifestyle is not for them—similar to my initial perspective in the fitness lifestyle. Over time though, I hope that their attitude will change and they will see the light as I did.
Now that my life has improved once I made a conscious effort to educate myself, perhaps it can be extended into other things that I am willing to try but never had the time to do so, like playing guitar and writing a novel. Like my bout with exercise, maybe doing the act itself will be a way for me to see the light.
Conclusion
Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave is a metaphor for education—once and individual starts to see the value of education, he or she will view reality differently. I have experienced a similar situation when it comes to exercising. At first, I was reluctant to exercise, but now I cannot see myself as staying away from it now that I have realized its importance to our health.
Perhaps the same viewpoint can be extended into everyone’s lives as well. It never hurts to try new things because it can change our lives as well.
Reference
Plato. Grube, G. M. A., & Reeve, C. D. C. (1992). Republic. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co.
