Plato's Cave

In our class study of Plato’s cave, it is described as someone who experiences one reality verses another. This can be easily interpreted outside of the cave metaphor and incorporated into everyday life. For example, a person with depression may feel as though everything around them is negative, only shadow’s on a wall that are dark, blurred and distorted by the depression. This reality is very real to them and having someone who doesn’t have this mental illness say “why can’t you see how beautiful… is?” or the ever popular, “why are you such a downer?” is not helpful to that person. They do not experience the same reality that the other person does. Even if that person with depression were to all of a sudden be cured (or set free from the cave) they would always have the memory of what it was like and so interpret life differently from their friend. Much the same as an average high school student is a cave dweller when it comes to more adult things like taxes, mortgages, supporting a family, etc. because these are things that simply aren’t part of their reality yet. When the time comes for them to be free, they will stumble into the sunlight, dazed and confused, but will eventually adjust.  This shows that everyone, due to their life experience and their own personal cave, experiences life differently. Why does that matter on a regular basis? Acknowledging that everyone does not think or feel things the same way you might is critical in being able to interact with others. It could get very frustrating if you are unable to respect other’s reality and why they may not agree with you.