Plato’s Puzzle
“My creator! I finally found you! I’m Georgios.”
“Georgios! What a nice surprise!”
“Thank you for creating me and for taking me to this wonderful world of light, colors and three dimensions. I’m so grateful!”
“Well, I invented you to serve as example in my little allegory. I hope you didn’t mind.”
“I loved it! At first, when I was in the cave with the other prisoners, accustomed to grayness and two dimensions, I thought that it was all that existed. So when you took me outside and showed me this world of three dimensions, with light and colors, I was horrified and wanted to go back! The light was intense and the colors and shapes confusing. But slowly, I understood that what I knew before was nothing compared to this marvelous world…”
“I used those contrasts to teach my students at the Ἀκαδημία that, according to master Socrates, there is another reality hidden beyond our sense perceptions.”
“…and then you sent me back to the cave to tell my friends what I had discovered. But words couldn’t describe it, and they wouldn’t listen to me. They had no interest in anything outside their limited world!”
“Yes, the point of the allegory was to illustrate that our sense perceptions are limited and illusory. Your escape from the cave symbolized our capacity to go beyond this world and discover something superior, something unchangeable and infinite.”
“But who would like to leave this beautiful world? I love it! In fact, I’ve decided to take up painting to play with forms and colors.”
“Well, if you don’t try to go beyond your senses, you aren’t different from your fellow prisoners in my story.”
“How so? They chose to stay in the cave and I escaped!”
“Have you never felt any longing for the unknown, Georgios? To discover a greater freedom and a deeper joy?”
“No, sir! Here, I have everything I need. This is plenty for me!”
“Of course. Well, Georgios, it was nice seeing you. Good luck with your plans to become a painter.”
“Goodbye, master Plato. And thanks again for everything!”
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHello, Christer. This is an interesting story. When I read the title, I immediately smiled. It is another great story with a touch about the great philosophers. Well done.
Thank you, Lotchie. The story is a little fun thought-play with the idea of the relationship between an author and his protagonist. I was using the idea that the man who Plato invented to introduce his idea was a regular man who might not understand or be interested in the idea that he had been made to illustrate. Did you know Plato’s story about the prisoners in the cave?
No. I haven’t read that yet. But I search that story on the internet. And it sounds great and interesting. I will read about it soon.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThis is a thought-provoking story, Christer. It is so easy to become complacent and not to long for something bigger than ourselves. This is another well-written piece.
Thanks for you nice words, Marianna. You are right. We often get satisfied with a lot less than we could ask for or accomplish. In this case, I was comparing Plato to a creator/God. He was proud of his creation, but the man he made into a famous hero wasn’t interested in his creator’s ideas. This is the case when we are happy with basic, physical needs and don’t lift our eyes… Read more »