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During slavery in the United States, southern white slave owners were raised to believe that blacks were inferior, and they believed it. It was hard for slave owners to imagine life any other way, and for them, there was no reason to imagine life any other way. It could be argued that the Yankees used Plato's epistemology. They broke free from the "chains" holding them to the belief that blacks are inferior. The reason that they were able to do this might be that their "chains" weren't as strong as those of the southerners. The Yankees weren't totally immersed in the slave culture, which made it easier for them to look beyond the "shadows" to the real truth. This conflict between the epistemological methods of the north and the south arguably caused the civil war. If both sides held a similar epistemological view then the civil war wouldn't have taken place. It seems impossible, however, for everyone to hold a view based on a Platonic epistemology. There will always be people who gain in some way from a current situation, or, because of habituation, simply can't break from their "chains"to see past the "shadows". It seems then, that one problem with Plato's epistemology is that change can't be clean or easy. Every belief must be tested. The issue of slavery is slowly passing the test of integration, blacks and whites are gradually becoming
