Education is essential in order to become a well-rounded, reasonable human being. Without education people have no reason to question what they read or hear and do not have the ability to assess critically what they hear even if they do desire to question it. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” from Book 7 of “The Republic” theorizes on what would occur if a prisoner chained in a cave, exposed only to shadows on a wall were to break free of his chains. Plato theorized that when the prisoner was exposed to what we consider the “real world” he would not believe what he sees; gradually the prisoner would adjust to this new reality and become enlightened with knowledge and understanding. When the prisoner brings his newfound knowledge back to the
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My great-grandfather enlisted in the second world war instead of completing high school, although he is now in his early nineties he is still very clear-minded and able to hold a conversation despite being hard of hearing. I have found in my discussions with him and his elderly friends that he believes whatever he is told by the media or even by his next door neighbor, as long as what they say verifies his long held beliefs. This parallels the cave dwellers in the allegory because even though they are exposed to a new information and facts they refuse to believe them because they contradict their reality. When discussing my subjects in high school my great-grandfather would often decry what I had been taught as falsehoods if they were to portray the United States in a critical or negative light or had ideas that could be considered even slightly left leaning. If a discussion of these ideas was attempted he would shut down, I believe this is due to a lack of education in critical thinking and discussion. Although I understand and communicate with him I find it hard to relate to him my own …show more content…
This conclusion would be incorrect, although people have access to this much information they often misuse it. On many social media sites, such as Facebook, people are found sharing information that reinforces their opinion. It is rare that people will civilly discuss ideas or even listen to other viewpoints. People create “echo chambers” where they only listen to opinions and facts that reinforce their opinions. This is helped by mainstream media and news outlets that are blatantly biased presenting their own interpretations of events as facts. The echo chamber people place themselves in online is then reinforced when they read the news or turn on the television to get the facts. This is evident in some of the more recent protests, counter protests and demonstrations where two sides can be seen shouting insults and profanities instead of communicating their opinions or the reasoning behind them. An old friend of mine said after the election she would refuse to even acknowledge a person existed if she found out they supported Donald Trump for president. Personally the idea of not discussing the reason behind their decision or acknowledging their right to their opinion seems absurd. The cave dwellers were unable to even understand the possibility of another reality similar to
My great-grandfather enlisted in the second world war instead of completing high school, although he is now in his early nineties he is still very clear-minded and able to hold a conversation despite being hard of hearing. I have found in my discussions with him and his elderly friends that he believes whatever he is told by the media or even by his next door neighbor, as long as what they say verifies his long held beliefs. This parallels the cave dwellers in the allegory because even though they are exposed to a new information and facts they refuse to believe them because they contradict their reality. When discussing my subjects in high school my great-grandfather would often decry what I had been taught as falsehoods if they were to portray the United States in a critical or negative light or had ideas that could be considered even slightly left leaning. If a discussion of these ideas was attempted he would shut down, I believe this is due to a lack of education in critical thinking and discussion. Although I understand and communicate with him I find it hard to relate to him my own …show more content…
This conclusion would be incorrect, although people have access to this much information they often misuse it. On many social media sites, such as Facebook, people are found sharing information that reinforces their opinion. It is rare that people will civilly discuss ideas or even listen to other viewpoints. People create “echo chambers” where they only listen to opinions and facts that reinforce their opinions. This is helped by mainstream media and news outlets that are blatantly biased presenting their own interpretations of events as facts. The echo chamber people place themselves in online is then reinforced when they read the news or turn on the television to get the facts. This is evident in some of the more recent protests, counter protests and demonstrations where two sides can be seen shouting insults and profanities instead of communicating their opinions or the reasoning behind them. An old friend of mine said after the election she would refuse to even acknowledge a person existed if she found out they supported Donald Trump for president. Personally the idea of not discussing the reason behind their decision or acknowledging their right to their opinion seems absurd. The cave dwellers were unable to even understand the possibility of another reality similar to