If you were in the dark, but were comfortable there, with the illusions that the dark had created, would you really want to be enlightened? In the story that Socrates weaves about the cave, the one that has managed to find his way out is charged to go back in again and enlighten his fellow men who are still suffering in the darkness, to show them the way out. But, when someone has been in the darkness that long, do they really even still have the eyes to see when they escape? And furthermore, would they really WANT to escape? This is the point that keeps ringing in my mind every time I think about this story. If you were trapped in the darkness, with a firm belief in what your eyes had told you was true, even if it was a lie, would you want to be told otherwise?
Of course, we would all say yes, we would want to know! But then I think about Oedipus. Oedipus wanted to know the truth, he wanted to escape the cave that Republic described, but when he finally finds the truth, it is too much for him and he blinds himself. Is there a such thing as too much enlightenment? Could it have been kinder to have left Oedipus in the cave, or in the end is the light always the better option?
P.S. I commented on Jessica Dosset's blog The Comfortable Cave
I may agree with you here. It is listed all too often in Scripture with false prophets who strive for intellectual knowledge. They, in turn, lead themselves astray and hurt themselves and others. I think this also explains a lot with the decline of the church recently. Many are trying to over-enlighten themselves, instead blinding themselves with ignorance.
ReplyDelete- Will