1 Frank Felker 4 June 2010 COM 126 Dr.

Sharrell Harrrell, Professor

Platos Cave of Shadows, Extant Today In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato (427-347 B.C.) postulated that reality was subjective and based on each persons experiences and what he perceived of happenings in his personal life. He proposed this by suggesting a group of men in a cave, tied in place and able to face in only one direction. There is a large fire behind them and all they are able to see are shadows cast on the wall in front of them. The shadow show consists of other persons carrying various objects and occasionally speaking among themselves. This, then, becomes their world and only reality. Eventually, one man escapes into the sunlight of the real world. Realizing that everything he has believed in, his reality is in fact a mere shadow of what truly exists in bright and vibrant real world. Dumbfounded but exhilarated and exited, he must take news of this larger and more beautiful world to his fellow prisoners, only to be ridiculed and disbelieved. This is a simplified and very basic explanation of Platos more complex philosophic treatise. However, it will give us a starting point to see how his proposition of Shadow Cave might be extant and at work in todays world. Taking a look at recent events occurring in Afghanistan, we can become aware of how a relatively closed society is able to validate Platos theory. In the article, Have Platos Cave Shadows Finally Made into the Afghan Debate?, Reuters, 26 March 2010, Retrieved, 04 June 2010, from, http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/2010/03/26/have-platos-cave-shadows-made-it-into-the-afghan-

2 debate/, Joshua Foust speaks of a two-day work shop he had attended. This workshop concerned tribal engagement in Afghanistan and what might be done with a nine year old war. There are several problems that hamstring the gathering of some of the most experienced and knowledgeable men in the area. One of the largest problems facing these military leaders, Tribal representatives, and politicians is cultural history. Going to the Tribal leaders is eerily similar to the escapee of the cave going back to save his comrades. The Islamic Afghanis are so immersed in their culture; they just barely understand what they are being told. Forget about the why. In their culture, Jihad has been way of life for many generations. On the other side of the equation, the Western World cannot, or will not, understand or know what Jihad even means. Daniel Pipes, in his article, Jihad through History, The New York Sun, 31 May 2005, Retrieved, 04 June 2010, from, http://www.danielpipes.org/2664/jihad-through-history, quotes David Cook of Rice University, as saying the term primarily means warfare with spiritual significance. And again, The Koran invites Muslims to give their lives in exchange for assurances of paradise. There are many other imperatives in the Koran that the faithful must live by and could not comprehend any other way, much less tolerate a change in the ways or in the teachings. The West, mostly Christian with a good dose of Jewish influence, mainly sees religion as a more altruistic, growing and changing, moralistic way of life. As their belief system grows and ages, it takes on a softer more tolerant outlook on other belief systems. In Islam and in the teachings of the Prophet in the Koran, any type of progress in this direction is precluded by its basic tenets. The closed society, the teachings without tolerance of change, the, almost, force feeding of a picked and chosen reality are so obviously cave-like, it is impossible not to compare them to Platos dialogue concerning the cave. The fact that Plato has been dead for over 2300 years fairly begs the reader to dig into more of his works (even though the semantics of his day may be a little difficult) and then to look around the world we live in today. Then, compare the findings

3 and marvel at the intellect that produces works that last thousands of years and remain alive and valid.