Archive for ‘Pre-Renaissance (Part I)’

This “cave” has run so many of our lives and we never considered if it was a good idea when we first sat down. You see in this story, we weren’t always in a cave. There was a time when we lived outside, but the cave makes things easier. Unlike the outside world we trust this cave to protect us. We think it’s better than anyone else’s cave, and now…

it is just too hard to leave the cave

From my title it is already obvious that this cave is our American food industry, but why would I have a beef with them? About a year ago I was diagnosed with a digestive disorder. The disease partly stems from genetics and partly from diet (but it really only shows up in the US). Very quickly I was introduced to an entirely new way of eating. My doctor ordered me off overly processed foods, cryptic labels, GMOs, anything artificial, and meat treated with steroids, antibiotics, hormones, and ammonia. I didn’t know why I had to do all the things, but in time I took the time to learn what I had been eating all my life. It wasn’t pretty. A good way to equate it is to Sinclair’s The Jungle about the horrors of the early 1900s meat packing industry.

Over 100,000 cows are fed, bred, and slaughtered at this feed-lot in California

I could talk to you for hours, but I have chosen to talk about the beef industry from a documentary Food Inc. that you can watch on your own to get a basic background on the industry. Corn is highly subsidized, and more corn is made than needed in the US. As a result, a lot of it ends up as a cheap animal feed, creating unhealthily fat cows and chickens. A cow is supposed to eat grass, but its corn diet creates a strong environment for E. coli O157:H7. This is a new strain of bacteria that is highly resistant and quite deadly. However, most cows live on mass feeding lots where they trudge through foot high manure spreading the disease to one another. Cows are taken to slaughter even if they are sick, so meat is given an ammonia filler to help kill some of it off. Despite this measure, plants still ship off tainted meat each year. The USDA had made a regulation to monitor these production plants and shut them down, but the plants sued them for it rendering the USDA helpless on the matter. Thus your everyday hamburger is a nice ground up compilation of an ammonia and maybe 1000 other cows of which at least one was probably sick. E. coli O157:H7  runoff from these plants has begun to show up in vegetables fields, and the problem is growing.

Do you really know what is in your food?

If you knew where your farmer’s market was would you go?

Will you take a couple hours to watch a documentary?

Would you ask me questions after it? Or before?

Food Inc. Trailer

The allegory of the Cave was a class discussion that I really found extrememly fascinating. The idea that we are all living in a false reality that is completely accepted by everyone around us is amazing, because even though Plato wrote that hundreds and hundreds of years ago, I feel like in today’s society it has never been truer.

The first thing I thought of when I heard the phrase “living in a false reality” was the idea of modern day beauty. Every where you turn, men and women alike are  being bombarded with ads upon ads showing scantily clad models displaying any product you can think of. Nowadays “sex sells” is even being applied to items such as cleaning supplies and deoderant. Magazine covers show us what we are supposed to look like and everyone not only goes along with it, some even devote their life to figuring out ways to make their body look like the people on TV. Beauty is a trait that is embraced and even idolized by countless people. Entire cultures differ on what can be defined as “beautiful”, however in America it can be once again pretty much defined in the phrase “sex sells.” I am not a feminist or hardcore womens rights by any means, but I am someone who prefers natural beauty the way God made us, not the beauty is portrayed in our culture nowadays. And I know a lot of guys and girls that feel the same way.

This is a completely false reality, and the youtube video I am attaching is proof. This is a short film made by the brand Dove when a few years ago they started a “Real Beauty” Campaign for women. They made it their goal to show women the outside of the cave, taking the risk that would get torn apart for it. Which ironically enough, I think a lot of women still refuse to admit how unrealistic our society has become with beauty standards, thus showing Plato’s theory to be true. And this false idea of beauty is thrown at us starting at a very early age. I remember one time I heard that if Barbie was real life she literally wouldnt be able to support herself because her measurements are so ridiculous. So I did a little research and found that a standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbie’s vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman. So I don’t understand how you can deny the faslehood of it, especially after seeing this video. Photoshop, pounds of make up, and even re-shaping human features, are just a few tricks used by editors to make models look “beautiful”. The body we see in a magazine, if edited enough, could literally be impossible. 

I hope we never forget the allegory of the cave, and instead of accepting the truth everyone else sees to be true, we take a look outside for ourselves.

Click the link below for the video:

Model to Billboard

After discussing the different views on happiness in class, it is strange to think of how these views have changed over the years. The views used to be so strict. Happiness was only found when you have reached a specific point, total harmony or complete virtue or total freedom from pain and anxiety. There were many different criterion that a person had to meet in order attain the right to say he or she had reached happiness. Rules consisted of living a life of little to no mistakes or injustice; or a lifetime of learning and attaining as much knowledge and reason as possible; or reaching the highest levels in each state of virtue. Nowadays, reaching happiness in life does not have strict rules. Happiness can be found by giving or receiving a gift, a positive experience, having time for a nap, a cancelled class, etc. Happiness can be found at a young or old age. It no longer requires an entire lifetime of attempting to fulfill one’s purpose. However, I do believe that, even in this day and age, in order to attain happiness over an extended period of time, you must take pieces from each of these older views and apply them to your life. For example, fulfilling a goal, the need for friendship, and being passionate about life are important in finding happiness.

While attempting to find inspiration for my first blog post as hard as I tried to avoid the most popular post, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave was the one thing that I desired to write about the most. Over the years I have studied Plato’s Allegory thoroughly and it is something that still fascinates me to this day. In high school I actually read Plato’s dialogue of this allegory in his work, The Republic. I did not fully understand it in high school but after re-reading it a couple of days ago was amazing at how easy it was to understand not only because I had a better understanding of it but because our culture has seemed to embrace it and demonstrate it through works of art, stories, and even through the music.

Recently I have added a new folk rock band to my list of favorites known as Mumford and Sons. Their song Little Lion Man was what made me interested in the band but after buying the rest of one of their albums I came across a song titled The Cave. When I heard the title of this song I thought of Plato almost instantly. While I do not think that this song is talking about Plato’s Allegory entirely I do think that it contains some similar ideas such as the lines: “Now let me at the truth, which will refresh your mind” and “So come out of your cave walking on your hands, and see the world hanging upside down, You can understand dependence, when you know the maker’s land”. While some might consider this a stretch I think that this song has many similarities as it seems that the person is attempting to get away from the misconceptions and the presuppositions that he has had and to embrace the freedom of knowing the true forms of reality.

Attached is the link for the song, I could not find just the song so I though I would include the music video. I could not find references in the video to the cave but thought I’d still include it. Hope yall enjoy it.

The Cave

One thought that has been plaguing me throughout our discussion of the early Greek philosophers is why do we start here?  I know that other early cultures and times have their own phalanx of great thinkers (before and after the great thinkers of Greece).

I initially imagined a man (because all great thinkers of that era had to be men), an early Mayan, sitting by the fire with his blue corn tacos espousing his thoughts on the universe to all who would listen.  And because he would not shut-up, the tribe eventually made him a shaman.   I discussed these thoughts with my husband (who is a scholar working on his second and third master’s degrees simultaneously).  He said, you’ve just described Eurocentrism.  I did not know that my thoughts had a term!

In preparation for this blog post, I did a cursory scouring of the internet for information about Eurocentrism.  Here is some of what I found that struck a chord with me.

Eric Gerlach teaches philosophy, logic, ethics and religion at Berkeley City College.  He has a relevant blog post about teaching multiculturalism as opposed to Eurocentrism.  He synthesized my thoughts in the following quote:

“The Eurocentric View of the Ancient World:

Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Western mind and culture, distinct from others in critical rational inquiry and diverse individual freedom.

The Multicultural View of the Ancient World:

All ancient cultures had critical rational inquiry and diverse individual freedom. Ancient cultures, including ancient Greece, were neither exceptional nor perfect in the exercise of reason and freedom.”

If you would like to see more from Mr. Gerlach, you can visit the following blog post:  http://ericgerlach.blogspot.com/2010/03/teaching-multiculturalism-not.html

Mesopotamia or Babylon was a treasure trove of philosophy, science, mathematics and medicine.  There was even an extensive medical text called Diagnostic Handbook written by the physician Esagil-kin-apli of Borsippa, during the 11^th century, BCE.  That was hundreds of years before Hippocrates.  If you would like to learn more about ancient Babylon and their advances, you can visit the following site:  http://www.reference.com/browse/Mesopotamia

I understand that to study the history of philosophy and further, psychology, we have to start somewhere, I just think that we should remember that as Solomon once said: there is nothing new under the sun.

The Allegory of the Cave is a very interesting idea. I remembering trying to read this in high school and completely missing the point of it. It was when I read it once again in college that I was able to better understand and better appreciate the concept behind finding truth and knowledge. The Cave presents the whole concept of living in a world where you know nothing other than what is presented right in front of you. There is a truth beyond what we can visually see that is not realized unless a person is willing to take a chance to search for it. It reminded me a little of the movie “The Truman Show.” Truman is living in a world that is his reality only to discover later on that he has been the main character of a television show. Everything he knew was not true even down to his friends that were actually actors. I remember thinking at the end when he realizes that he was living in a false sense of reality, “Now what does he do?” Once knowledge and truth are found, where do we go from there?

Then, I started thinking about the aspect of knowledge and truth and how that can relate to our faith. The verse that immediately stuck out in my mind was John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus calls himself “the truth” which is hard for me to completely comprehend. What I get out of this verse is that Jesus is the only way and the ultimate truth that we are trying to seek. Through him we are enlightened in a way that makes us look at life differently. I think the concept of the Cave is similar. If we journey out of the Cave or are bold in our faith, then we see a whole new truth or view our lives as Christians in a whole new way.

I just wanted to expand a little more on what Dr. McAnulty touched upon in class.  He spoke a little bit about Plato’s beliefs in the “forms” and how Christianity adopted a lot of Platonic thoughts.

I had learned in a philosophy class, that Plato determined that of all the possible forms that existed in the world, there are three on which all other forms were based.  The three highest forms are that of Beauty, Truth, and the most important and basis of all other forms, is the form of Good.  It is important to note that Plato beliefs in three higher forms, for that is one of the original concepts that early Christians were attracted to in Platonic philosophy.  They drew a line between the three forms and the Holy Trinity.

I think it is interesting, that the early Christians latched so much onto Platonic philosophy and incorporated it into their interpretation of Christianity.  Its is easy to see why.  A lot of early Christians were in fact Greeks, the earliest Christian texts ever discovered are written in Greek.  Plato played a very important part in Greek education at the time.

It’s also important to note, that the idea of forms goes well in an idea of otherworldly realms, such as heaven.  And I can see how the early Christians picked up on the idea of the three highest forms and matched that up with the Holy Trinity.  The thing I find most interesting, however, is the fact that even after most of Plato’s influence faded away from Christianity, modern Christians still latch onto ideas and fads that seem to satisfy our worldview.

I did not grow up in the Church of Christ, but I know that the Church of Christ started in a movement to get back to the basics of Christianity.  But even CoC has let outside trends influence how they do Church.  So, what do you guys think?  Do you think its okay to incorporate non-Christian ideas as long as they do not conflict with mainstays of the Christian faith?

Probably the best example of this, is the tendency of Church’s to run like businesses.  The Church adopts business terms such as Executive Pastor and budgets its money with the propensity of an accountant.

This is random, but I found this comic and thought it was hilarious.

1 John 4:9-10

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

What does love really mean? As Christians, we are taught that God loves us unconditionally and we ought to love others as well as God. But, as I think about what that really means, I realize that I have no real understanding of what the love of God actually is. The allegory of the cave can be applied to this fundamental Christian principle, that God is love. Just like the men chained in the cave facing the shadows, I see reflections of God’s love. I see it through the lives of other people, I read the stories in the Bible, I pray to have a relationship, but I still can only grasp a pinch of what God’s love completely entails. Even my own ability to love is only a reflection of the love of God. I cannot even fathom how it is possible to love every single person who has ever been and who will be. And not just to love them, but to love them with such a complexity and wholeness that it consumes you; it becomes the center of your entire being. I love my God, my family, my friends, but I know that I do not love with the entirety that God loves, nor will I ever while I am on this earth. I am stuck in the shadows. I cannot see the real light, only the glimpses and reflections. I am grateful though that I do not really know what the love of God is. I just remind myself that the love of God is probably one hundred times amazing that I can even fathom. It definitely gives me something to look forward to.

Furthermore, in the allegory of the cave, when the escaped prisoner goes back into the cave to tell the other prisoners of the truth he has seen, he is killed. The chained prisoners cannot fathom the truth and so react violently. This is similar to what happened to Jesus. He came as a man to bring the truth and splendor of God’s love to the world and what did we do? We crucified him. It is interesting to me that Plato predicted this scenario a couple hundred years before Christ. I think that shows how wise and timeless Plato’s ideas can be.

I am always shocked when I realize how much the work of philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle still influence prominent thinkers of today. During our Greek philosophy lecture, I was very interested in the Epicureanists, who defined happiness as “freedom from physical pain and mental anxiety.” I would definitely agree with the assertion presented in class that epicureanist thinking is still socially relevant. It is my opinion that many people focus heavily on the here-and-now aspect of things and pretty much ignore spirituality (which is, in part, the contemplation of the future) altogether, choosing instead to respect others’ religions as their own and adopting a “truth is relative” approach to immortal contemplation. It seems that post-modernism goes hand in hand with relativism.

This brings me back to Revelations 3:16 where John testifies against a lukewarm faith. I mean, doesn’t the post-modern relativist philosophy pose a dangerous threat to the bold and united Church Jesus longed for? It is this blogger’s opinion that it does, and in the true spirit of west Texas I ask, what do ya’ll think?

I find it interesting that one thing Plato wrote can be looked at from so many different views (the bonus of being vague I suppose).  Dr. McAnulty explained it as a search for knowledge and truth and then becoming an outcast after becoming enlightened.  While a few years ago I had a professor explain it as an ascention into a higher realm, possibly even meaning Heaven in her view.  She believed that the prisoners were all of us still living, as we are bound by laws and morals in order to remain in the state we consider “free”.   I am more apt to agree with Dr. McAnulty that I am with my previous professor mainly because she was not completely there mentally as it was.  But I want to know more about the stance everyone else has on the Cave.  Is it a search for knowledge, truth, or a movement to another plane of being?