Yin Yang of Plato's 'The Cave'
Plato's allegory 'The Cave' explores how our perception of the world may be influenced by our life or environment. It;
'describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them and give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoners' reality, but are not accurate representations of the real world. The shadows represent the fragment of reality that we can normally perceive through our senses, while the objects under the sun represent the true forms of objects that we can only perceive through reason.' Wikipedia (2024)
This interpretation of perception rooted in Greek philosophy has largely influenced Western thought.
'Socrates explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are actually not the direct source of the images seen. A philosopher aims to understand and perceive the higher levels of reality. However, the other inmates of the cave do not even desire to leave their prison, for they know no better life.' Wikipedia (2024)
Western culture rooted in Ancient Greek philosophy seeks to understand the world through reason and the sciences
In doing so it can often be suspicious of the perception of our senses - shadows. However, taken to it's extreme it can result in an either/or way of thinking, 'your either with me or against me' mindset - unconscious biase.
However, I would suggest Plato's aim may have been to give grater value to reason in a world dominated by superstition. While today modern Western thinking may be seen as being dominated by reason at the expense of intuition, diversity and creativity. Redressing this imbalance presents us with as many challenges as those discussed by Plato, something that he recognised in his discourse:
' .. whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light.' (Plato 2024)
An Eastern cultural interpretation is different in that both the shadow from a fire inside the cave and objects under the sun not only hold equal importance but are essential elements that must continually interplay with each other.
Objects perceived by us under the sun may represent scientific study, something that can be reasoned, replicated by others. From an Eastern perspective this may be represented by the white half of the yin yang symbol. Yet there is a small black dot in the white half that suggests our scientific study may be unconsciously biased.
The black half of the yin yang symbol is then the opposite of scientific study. It represents our unconscious habits and potential biase: cultural, ancestral, personal, instinctual or unquestioned ways of feeling. The white dot here represents our reason, our ability to be aware of these hidden ways of perceiving.
Good science requires us to be aware of unconscious biase. However, we should also develop our perception including intuitive thought so that it may be tested by our rational reasoning self. After all great leaps forward in knowledge often originate from a random thought.
An Eastern both / and approach would pay attention to a gut feeling but then explore it with reason. Alternatively after using reasoning check your gut feeling.
The core principles of Embodied Tai Chi offer ways to widen our perception by tapping into our internal neurophysiological somatic senses. A body movement way to become accustomed to the allegorical darkness.
Reference
Plato (2024) The Republic, Book VII Translated by Benjamin Jowett; ebook, https://www.kobo.com/GB/en/ebook/the-republic-annotated-1
Wikipedia (2024) Allegory of the Cave: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave#:~:text=The%20Allegory%20of%20the%20Cave,of%20it%20on%20our%20nature%22. accessed 7th April 2024
