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_educ
ation.html?cat=9 : downloaded 1/12/11@3:40 PM

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Thoreau, Henry D. A World of Ideas. 7th Edition. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston:
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