From ignorance to wisdom

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From ignorance to wisdom

We all remember Plato's “Allegory of the Cave.” In it, the Greek philosopher discusses a scenario in which prisoners, chained by their feet since adolescence and forced to look straight ahead, could only see the shadows cast on a wall in front of them by a fire that stood between them and the objects carried by people on the other side of the wall, behind the prisoners.

No light entered the cave directly. What was seen was only a shadow of part of the reality that was happening on the outside. The shadow was not the person and the object they were carrying, but simply the object.

There was no way for the captive prisoners to understand what reality was, as this had always been their only way of seeing the world. They could not look at the other prisoners or communicate with the outside world.

In exchange for this darkness, they were kept safe. They did not have to look for food or shelter, nor did they even have to work.

If someone spoke from outside, the voice they would hear echoing inside the cave would be only part of what was said... And only an echo. They would not know that someone had spoken, nor would they be able to distinguish whether that sound came from the shadows cast in front of them.

At the time this Allegory was written, more than 300 years before the birth of Christ, televisions did not even exist. The closest thing to this idea would be theater, or even puppets.

Like those prisoners, we are often entertained by daily tasks, almost literally trapped in routines, mannerisms, customs that have been passed down to us, in the way we view the world, and in the way we position ourselves to observe the world.

Being in the sun means leaving the comfort of the cave. It means being exposed to the elements, and even to other people. There is no guarantee that nothing will happen to us that could harm us. And many of us live our whole lives like this. We believe in the shadows that are cast in front of us, without even having the chance to look to the side or talk to those around us.

And nowadays, who has the courage to doubt the reality that is presented to them? Who really seeks to know what lies behind the images that reach them?

Ignorance, in a way, is also something that is consciously chosen. We value our comfort more than trying to seek out the Sun, the source of the projected reality to which we have access.

Wisdom is not something passive. It requires conscious effort, in terms of leaving where we are and being chained by the intense light of the sun. At first, we may even think that we cannot see very well, because the intensity is such that it forces us to half-close our eyes, but after a while we get used to it, and we begin to see shapes, colors, textures... A new reality that is gradually being revealed to us.

But nowadays, with so much information available, are we not, in some way, stuck in a cave? Shouldn't we go outside to understand what is generating this information and whether it is reliable?

Social media, influencers, coffee shop conversations, popular beliefs, misinformation programs, opinions not based on scientific evidence. All of this fills us with noise and prevents us from hearing and seeing with discernment. This discernment requires courage. Determination. There is no point in “wielding” scientific facts against those who do not want to be enlightened, and are content with their way of thinking and acting, not wanting to know if they could ever improve.

Never try to change the opinion of someone who is happy with their own. Most likely, that person is not seeking wisdom, but is content with the ignorance that suits them and to which they have adapted.

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Original text written by me in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)}