What Plato Can Teach Us About Education

By: Sean Rooney

Our society so values education that sociologists have recognized the problem of "over-education" (Hadjicostandi). Many people are spending years pursuing degrees which they simply do not need for the jobs they perform. It is therefore prudent for students to question whether pursuing a liberal education is really as important as our society believes. What is the point of a college education? Does it have any purpose beyond its material benefits. Are these benefits worth their cost? These are important questions that need answering. In the end, we may see that there is far more to this debate than simple accounting. Perhaps what makes education worth pursuing is that it gives us the freedom to makes these kinds of decisions about what is best for us.

In many ways, this debate over education has its roots in the writings of Plato (Jowett). In Book VII of The Republic, Plato discusses such topics as enlightenment, epistemology, forms, and the duties of philosophers. The rhetorical styles which he employ are those of the dialogue and the allegory. The dialogue takes the form of a discussion between Socrates and Glaucon, while the allegory serves as a concrete illustration of the abstract ideas which Plato talks about (Jacobus, 444). Let us examine this "Allegory of the Cave" in more detail.

In it, Plato asks the reader to imagine "human beings living in an underground den [where] they have been from childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and [there is] a low wall. [with] men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals which appear over the wall (249). He makes the observation that because the prisoners would have no other experience besides that of the cave, they would see the shadows on the wall and believe them to be "real" (249). Their captivity would distort their view of reality. Plato further asks what would happen if some of these prisoners were suddenly released and led from the cave. They would become wise to the ways of the world and with time would be able to "contemplate [the sun] as he is" (251). They would realize that everything they had formerly loved was either a lie or insignificant, and they would realize just how little they knew during their imprisonment.

In the allegory, the sun represents truth, we are the prisoners, and the prison of the cave is all that we can perceive (Plato, 252). Plato says that so long as we are enthralled by what we can see and taste and touch, we will never be able to even consider abstract ideas like justice and love. If, however, we shake the bonds which our senses have placed upon us, we can arrive at a higher stage of enlightenment than we could have imagined possible during our imprisonment (Plato's Allegory of the Cave).

We should, at this point, pause to define some terms. Plato talks much about

enlightenment, but what is this? It can be defined as the state in which an individual comprehends the truth about a particular subject. Whether or not one agrees with Plato that human beings possess the knowledge of all truth prior to birth, one must agree that by the time children reach the age at which they can reason, their minds are already filled with a myriad of ideas (Plato's Allegory of the Cave). Some of these ideas are correct while others are not. Thus, more often than not, enlightenment first involves realizing that one's beliefs do not match reality.

When talking about enlightenment, it is tempting to use the word as a synonym for education. This, however, is not the case. Education is the process by which an individual arrives at a state of enlightenment. Using "The Allegory of The Cave" as an illustration, education represents the prisoner's journey out of the cave. Once that individual has escaped the cave and made it into the light, he has achieved enlightenment. Thus, education is the means by which one attains the end of enlightenment.

It is often said that "practice makes perfect". This epigram is sometimes replaced by the much better one of, "perfect practice makes perfect" or the observation that, "practice makes permanent". These ideas can be applied to education as well. It is true that not all education is going to lead to a state of enlightenment. We can again look at "The Allegory of the Cave" for proof of this. In the cave, the prisoners had games where they would attempt to name the shadows on the wall as quickly as possible. Those who could do this the fastest were praised for their wisdom. From this, it may be inferred that perhaps the prisoners created great schools in which students were taught all the techniques by which they could name the objects on the wall more quickly then the "uneducated". Could a student in such a program claim to be enlightened by his education? He could, but he would be in error.

How can this be? If education is the process by which one obtains enlightenment, then how is it possible for an educated individual to remain unenlightened. Obviously, there is a discrepancy between our definition of education and its common usage. When people in our society use the word "education" they are generally referring to the formal training that one receives in schools. While it is true that all enlightenment requires the process of education, there is more to education then just formal training in schools. Education may also take on other forms such as natural curiosity, sudden insight, independent study, philosophical discourse, natural observation, or even meditation. Thus, for our purposes the common definition of education is slightly, though significantly, inaccurate and must be replaced with our more precise one.

If not all formal education will led to enlightenment and there are other ways of obtaining it, we may, like Thoreau, become dissatisfied with formal education and look to other methods. Thoreau believed that he was "doing [his] part to educate [his] fellow-countrymen" by lecturing in the lyciums(Thoreau 154). One could conclude that we have a better chance of obtaining an education by dwelling in nature or reading a good book than we do by attending a university. We must ask ourselves, however, which is more likely to be effective at attaining enlightenment. Should we attend a university and systematically search for the truth, or should we wait until we stumble upon it by mere

happenstance? The difference between these two methods of education is similar to that between the lottery and honest work. They are both methods of obtaining material prosperity, but one of them is far more likely to yield favorable results than the other.Education does not always lead to enlightenment, but what about when it does? Is enlightenment, which is the goal of education, necessarily a desirable state of being? To answer this question, we should weigh the pros and cons of enlightenment. In the end, we may decide that it is more practical to remain blissfully ignorant than it is to strive for something that is only going bring with it a host of problems.

Before we attempt to weigh the pros and cons of enlightenment, we should be careful to make sure that we are weighing the right things. In this process, it is tempting to concentrate on temporal costs and benefits of enlightenment, while at the same time ignoring those costs and benefits which are eternal and universal. For example, ask the average college student about the costs of education and they will probably focus mainly on material costs like tuition and books. At the same time, if one were to ask them about the benefits of a college education, they would likely point to material benefits such as the higher wages and better jobs that it helps one receive. It is highly unlikely that they would say that they are in college to attain enlightenment!

It is important that we do not just look at the obvious material costs and benefits of education, however, because these are not universally applicable. Not all education requires money and not all enlightenment is going to help you line your pockets. Some of what we may perceive to be pros and cons of education will only apply in certain situations. It therefore seems more prudent to focus on those costs and benefits of enlightenment which are the same for all people of all times in all circumstances.

The first thing that enlightenment has going for it is that it is an inherently desirable state of being. No one wants to be ignorant, so by default, enlightenment and education are deemed worthwhile. We may debate whether or not the costs outweigh the satisfaction that enlightenment brings with it, but very few people would be willing to argue against the idea that enlightenment is by its very nature a good thing. Secondly, enlightenment gives a purpose to life. Prisoners held captive in the cave cannot be truly happy with their lot and some of them must long for something more. This reminds one of Morpheus' words to Neo in The Matrix: You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.

The prisoners must ask themselves if there is not some greater accomplishment that they can strive for than to recognize the shadows on the wall more quickly than their fellows. Once they have gotten the splinter out of their mind by satisfying their curiosity, they see their purpose in life. They know they should return to the cave to do their best to bring those still imprisoned there into the light. If they can bring just one more person into the light, they will feel that they have accomplished something which will, of course, give them a great deal of satisfaction.

Further, society as a whole benefits when even a single individual attains enlightenment. Plato says that enlightened individuals should return to the cave to govern their fellows because they "will see ten thousand times better than the inhabitants of the den" (Plato, 452). Individuals who know how the world really works are more fit to govern the rest of society than leaders who are enthralled by shadows like power and money. Even those who are still imprisoned in the cave would fair better under the good leadership of someone who has been enlightened then they would under that of someone who is themselves a prisoner of the cave.

What about costs? Plato clearly believes that enlightenment is worth any cost that it may require (Plato, 452). We should, however, ask ourselves if this is actually the case. From the allegory, we can see three costs of enlightenment which may, if they are deemed sufficiently great, be enough to convince us that it is best to just stay in the cave. These are: confusion, reprioritization, and alienation. Plato observes that anyone who has been held captive in a dark cave and is suddenly led into the light will be initially confused. His eyes will grow dark and he will be able to see even less than he could in the cave, until his eyes have had time to adjust to the light (Plato, 447). Similarly, anyone who begins to taste of the Pierian Spring will not be able to immediately comprehend all truth. His mind has been in a state of atrophy and he will therefore have to exercise it before he will be able to communicate his newfound knowledge to his fellows. This may prove a frustrating experience, but it is unavoidable.

Although the freed prisoners may be relieved to find that there is more to life than shadows on the wall, at least a small part of each of them must be disappointed that they will no longer be able to enjoy their old amusements. If the prisoners who were considered wise in the cave suddenly realized that there was no basis whatsoever for their reputation for wisdom, they will have to be at least a little disappointed. Of course, they will not want to continue to engage in a pointless activity, but it may be difficult for them to suddenly quit an activity from which they once derived great pleasure.

Further, in the absence of a certain activity, some other activity must necessarily take its place. This second activity may not be as pleasant as the first, however. For example, consider the life of the typical college student. A student at this or any other university is generally trying to find the balance between having fun and studying. There always comes that point in the semester, however, when one realizes that perhaps one should have spent a little less time having fun and a little more time studying. What the enlightened know to be important may not be necessarily pleasant.

Perhaps the most costly consequence of enlightenment is the alienation which may result from it. In "The Allegory of the Cave" the freed prisoner who returns to the cave can no longer converse with his friends because they seem to exist on a different level. The way in which they see the world is utterly incompatible with what the philosopher knows to be the truth. Therefore, he who seeks after enlightenment may have to face losing his relationship with his friends, and even his own family. They may stubbornly refuse to listen to the truth, and in the allegory, those who are still imprisoned even threaten to kill anyone who tries to release them from their bondage (Plato, 449). This may sound harsh,

but it is exactly what happened to Socrates. There are certainly some good arguments on both sides of the debate over the value of education. When you add to it such temporal factors as tuition costs, it may be easy for an individual to conclude that even when education is successful at bringing about enlightenment, it is not worth its cost. There is, however, one idea which destroys the notion that enlightenment may not be worth its costs. One only has to ask if it is possible to even debate this question without a certain amount of education.

We as scholars at the University of Texas Permian Basin are now debating whether or not our education is worth its costs. We have weighed the pros against the cons of enlightenment to discover whether it is better to remain blissfully ignorant or to continue our search for the truth even though it may bring with it a host of problems. We must realize, however, that this sort of analytical thinking itself requires a certain amount of education. If we did not have some level of enlightenment, we could not even begin to debate this topic. It is therefore impossible for us to imagine a scenario in which we would weigh the pros and cons of enlightenment and come to the conclusion that the enlightenment is not worth its cost. That kind of analytical thinking is beyond the abilities of someone who is still imprisoned in the cave. It would be like trying to determine if a particular food is appetizing without using your senses of taste, smell, or sight. It simply cannot be done.

The greatest thing that enlightenment bestows upon those who attain it, is freedom. It is this that makes enlightenment worth any cost it may require. Individuals who are enlightened have the freedom to choose between various options because they have the knowledge that those options exist. Someone who is enthralled by shadows on the wall has no other choice but to remain there transfixed by what he sees because he simply does not know any better. Until he manages to receive enough education that he, like Socrates, becomes aware of his own ignorance, he cannot hope to escape the cave (Plato, Apology). Once he begins to question whether or not there is more to life than the cave, however, he may turn his head just enough to catch a glimpse of the light shinning at the mouth of the cave. When he has once seen the light, he will immediately embark upon a lifelong journey to reach it.

Ref: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/307804/what_plato_can_teach_us_about_education.html?cat=9 : downloaded 1/12/11@3:40 PM

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