Are we still living in Plato's Cave?

Question

Please relate your answers with WWI, industrial revolution, enlightenment etc. THANKS!

Answer 1

No. Wow, don't you just hate cut and paste answers?

Answer 2

John Lennon, in the song "Watching the Wheels", seems to think that we are still living in a shadow world:

People say I'm lazy, dreaming my life away.
Well, they give all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me.
When I tell 'em I'm doing fine watching the shadows on the wall,
"Don't you miss the big time boy? You're no longer on the ball."

http://www.youtube.com/?v=RY_xY_Q_kQE

Similarly, the lyrics of Jack Jackson's "Inaudible Melodies" refer back to Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave":

Well, Plato's cave is full of freaks, demanding refunds for the things they've seen.
I wish they could believe in all the things that never made the screen.

http://www.feeds.rhapsody.com/folk/newfolk/track-chart.rss

At first it might seen that prior to the Enlightenment that most individuals were more likely to be chained with their backs to the sun, seeing reflections of the passing scene on the wall. Certainly, the industrialized world enjoys an almost universal education as well as a literacy rate that Plato and Socrates would at first glance find admirable.

However, at this point in history more than ever, many people live out their lives as members of the audience rather than participants. After all, that is the premise behind "The Matrix". So turn off this computer and go interact with others!

1) Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.
2) Help a disadvantaged child learn how to read.
3) Turn off the televison, and dare I suggest it, step away from the computer screen.
4) Walk or take public transportation instead of enclosing yourself off from the world in a private car.
5) Attempt to understand points of view other than your own.

I think I'll go take some my own advice. . .

Answer 3

We so are. The allegory that is our life has been destroyed by our past, and our government!