Platos Myth Of The Cave and Technology Today

In his Allegory of the Cave, Plato depicts a world where prisoners are held in a cave for their entire life (Cohen). The puppeteers cast shadows on the wall of the cave, and the prisoners see the shadows as reality. Upon breaking free from the cave, the prisoners come to the realisation that their entire existence has been a lie. They discover how others have controlled their life. This allegory has a great deal of relevance today, particularly in the age of technology. Today's human beings can be likened to the prisoners. Technology controls us -- from television to computers, phones, and cars, technology does everything for us. In spite of its advantages, it distracts us from the truth; it blinds us to the inherent dangers. Even when outside the cave, we can see how technology easily hides the truth from us. This paper discusses how the internet, computers, and the media have blinded us from the truth.

One of the major hallmarks of the 21st century is the internet, a phenomenon that has gained immense prominence over the last three decades. The internet has tremendously changed how people and organisations communicate and interact with one another. It has eliminated geographical and physical barriers and increased the flow of information. With social media, for instance, it is now possible for people to stay in touch with their friends, relatives, and acquaintances in any part of the globe without the use of traditional channels such as telephone and mail. Further, the internet has enabled organisations to market their products and engage their customers online. Today, virtually everything can be done online -- from business to shopping, reading, learning, information sharing, listening to music, gaming, watching television, and so forth. Indeed, the internet offers limitless possibilities; possibilities perhaps never imagined before.

There is the downside, however. With the internet, spreading propaganda and untruths has become easier than ever before. Individuals, organisations, and governments now find the internet a powerful tool for propagating falsehoods and advancing malicious interests. Browsing through websites and social media today, one comes across a ton of information with no factual or scientific basis. One will encounter propaganda aimed at creating fear and tension, as well as tarnishing products, brands, personalities, organisations, and governments. The unfortunate thing is that the consumers of propaganda take the propaganda as truth. In fact, that is how propaganda works -- depicting a falsehood as the truth. Propaganda spread via the internet controls us -- it forms the basis of our decisions, thoughts, and worldviews, which may consequently block us from achieving our full potential. In their article, Seung-yoon and Chomsky argue that the internet has considerably enslaved us. When we come out of this cave, we realise how propaganda has plunged us into a life of deceit.

Closely related to the internet is the computer. Today, the computer is the centre of human life. Virtually everything is dependent on a computerised process -- from telecommunication and banking to customer service, air traffic control, airport management, health care, transport, military, manufacturing, agriculture, and so forth. Even everyday household appliances are controlled by computerised applications and processes, such as microwaves, dishwashers, laundry machines, television sets, and home theatres.

Computers certainly have made our lives easier. Every day processes are now automated, reducing the time, effort, and cost needed to accomplish those tasks. But have computers blinded us from the underlying dangers? Nicholas Carr is one of the most ardent critics of human dependence on computers. He argues that overdependence on computers has increasingly diminished the ability of humans to be critical and analytical thinkers. This is indeed true as most tasks nowadays require much reduced mental involvement as virtually everything has been automated. We are even talking of driverless cars. While the value of computer automation cannot be overemphasised, Carr argues that it is unlikely that computers will ever completely replace the human brain. Human-made systems are prone to error, and when error occurs, humans take over. The autopilot is an ideal example. When the autopilot system breaks down, the pilot must control the plane. Such failures make us realise that the assumption that computers can fully substitute the human brain is not entirely true.

Another form of technology that can be associated with Plato's allegory is the media. The media -- television, radio, and the print media -- is the conduit through which the masses access information about what is happening around them -- politics, business, society, culture, weather, sports, and so forth. Nonetheless, the media tends to hold the masses in chains or darkness. Indeed, the media is an ideal puppeteer -- it manipulates and controls how the masses perceive reality, often in an attempt to achieve political or economic objectives (The Impious Digest). It censors information, pushes self-centred agendas, and portrays the lives of celebrities as the ideal life. In essence, the media blocks the truth from those outside the cave. Once freed from the cave, the masses come to the realisation that media-propagated darkness must be discarded in favour of the truth.