"Is it not the dreamer, sleeping or waking, one who likens dissimilar things, who puts the copy in place of the real object?"
-PLATO
"Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, kept inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind."
-Morpheus, The Matrix
So on the quest for defining TRUTH, there comes the debate for comparison of what reality is and what are facts. According to the dictionary, the truth is defined as the actual existence of something, verified and indisputable fact, proposition, or principle; or conformity with fact or reality. All the key words are in there, have you noticed? Reality is defined as the quality of being real or resemblance of something real. And facts are actual or alleged events or circumstances that are indisputable. So the ideas I am going to bring about are really deep and thought provoking.
In the philosopher Plato's Allegory of the Cave, it is very apparent how the mind can affect one's self and define what is real for us. In the Allegory of the Cave there are these prisoners who are chained to chairs and cannot move and forced to stare at a wall. Behind them is a huge bonfire in which these puppeteers cast shadows of things that come up on the wall. The prisoners are accustomed to seeing the shadows day by day and know NOTHING but these shadows. They believe these shadows to be real and do not question what makes them or where they came from. In other words, in the minds of the prisoners, the shadows are reality based on what their mind has been conditioned to tell them.
In the allegory, Plato questions what if a prisoner was to find freedom? Would they dare leave a routine they know of so well and escape their comfort zone to seek new realities, truth, and knowledge? If this was chosen and experienced, what are their responsibilities? It would be a challenge for the freed prisoner to convince the other prisoners that the shadows are not real because their senses in the mind convince them so well that the shadows are real. But also, they are afraid of the unknown and they have not been prepared for the challenges of the experiences the freed prisoner had.
I think we all at one time or another in our lives get stuck in our caves, or comfort zone. We believe so strongly that the shadows cast by the fire are real because the discipline of our chains do not allow us to turn around and see that there is more to see. The shadows are not truth, nor knowledge. Only questions. When we accept those false realities, what we believe is real but is not, we limit ourselves a great deal. The shadows can makes shapes such as a book, and our mind will register "Oh! Book!" But if we turn around, we will see it really isn't a book. We have to prepare ourselves for the challenges of the unknown.
The definition of reality and the shadows are very similar not only in Allegory of the Cave by Plato, but also in the action-packed movie The Matrix. In The Matrix, the character Neo lived in the cyber-world of The Matrix which was a world pulled over the eyes to blind people of the truth of the real world. The leader, Morpheus, decide to give Neo the choice to seek the true reality of the world or stay in the world of The Matrix. When Neo decides to seek the truth, its not as wonderful as he thought. The world he was accustomed to was more peaceful than the real world and learned that appearances can be deceiving. When Neo is put into te computer cyber-program, he is amazed and says that it couldn't be real. Morpheus raises the question "What is real? How do you define it?" He says if it's because the senses of touch, vision, and hearing send messages to the brain to tell you it's real and you accept them, does that truly make it real?
Morpheus also asks, "Have you ever had a dream that seemed to be so real?" What makes the difference between reality and a dream? It comes down to going against all beliefs and prior knowledge you were once comfortable with to accept th new as your reality, but also making the CHOICE to free your mind of false evidence appearing real (FEAR).
I find it absolutely amazing how easily we accept what our senses tell us is real. But the truth is, a lot of what we THINK is reality is based on preconditioned notions that CAN be altered. The more we broaden our minds and our horizons, the more tolerant we become as human beings, the more open we allow our minds to be, the more we fight against outside forces telling us what THEY believe to be true, then the more substance our realities will have.
If one was to break away from old habits and outside influences, and make the choice to expand their knowledge to discover truth and reality of the world, then they can get past whatever prior knowledge or thoughts they'd have and get rid of the fear of the unknown. We can accept what is, not living in a lie, like the prisoners in the cave or the people in The Matrix.
Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO
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