Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” clearly serves as a precursor to what will (at, least, what I expect to) follow throughout the rest of the course. An investigation into virtual reality demands one to question if the reality he or she perceives to be true is actually true– Plato poses this exact question, as he demonstrates that our understanding of the world may in fact simply be our understanding of shadows on the wall, or a constructed reality. Hence, Plato leads us to question if the reality that we understand to be reality is the only reality that exists– or, are we simply exposed to shadows on a wall, shadows that are constructed and only projections of a greater and larger reality? If this is the case, who (or what) acts as the puppeteer in our world? Who creates the “projection” of “shadows” on the walls of our world?
Perhaps the most troubling part of the allegory to comprehend is why, when the freed prisoner returns to the cave, the other prisoners reject his discovery that a reality exists beyond that of the shadows. As we study the “Allegory of the Cave” in an academic setting, it seems preposterous to reject enlightenment and hence, to willingly remain ignorant. However, after truly considering my response to being told that everything that I know is essentially wrong, I realize that I too would be hesitant to believe. If the world that we live in is truly all that we know, why would we want to leave it? Also, a decision to reject the existence of this greater reality provides one with a sense of control– autonomy that one would not possess if he or she blindly accepted the existence of a larger world without being able to see it. By actively choosing to live in an unenlightened world, one holds a sense of control over his reality and his existence. This sense of authority would explain why we are so infatuated with the idea of a virtual reality (which is why many of us are in this class as well). It allows us to construct an imagined world, different from or the same as our own, that abides almost entirely by our own rules. We are the puppeteers of the worlds we construct, creating the shadows that the “prisoners” witness.
I agree with the sentiment that the ability to not only control, but understand, one’s own reality connotes autonomy and power. One thing that you allude to in your post is a person’s emotionality and how that influences their perception or choice of reality. To live in an unenlightened world is not only a conscious choice, but one that might mean comfort or blissful ignorance. I think that’s why the idea of virtual reality–or even escapist entertainment, like fantasy novels–are so alluring, because they suggest a world in which the subtle and complex intricacies of reality do not exist.
In your post, you ask whether a prisoner in Plato’s Allegory would want to leave the cave, especially if they have no knowledge of the outside world. This, ironically, raises another question–are human naturally curious, and if they are, does their curiosity overpower their sense of comfort and stagnancy? I think it’s also important to note that, in the allegory, the prisoner does not make the choice to leave the cave on his own. Rather, an outsider leads him out of the cave which, again, leads to another question–if the prisoner is comfortable staying in their own sense of reality, why would the opinion of one person (who does not exist in the world of the cave) matter?