The Truth about Reality: Seeing is Believing, Only after Thinking Deeply - Essay Example

The Truth about Reality: Seeing is Believing, Only after Thinking Deeply Reality shows are not “real” because their producers and directors show only what they think their viewers want to see. Their participants may not be showing their “real” identities as well, because they have personal agenda. I believe that reality is based on a critical analysis of what our senses perceive. This means that I use my senses to “know” reality, but I still use my rationality to determine if what I see, read, feel, or hear is real or not. This is based on the assumption that I am evaluating something I can see, hear, or feel. To “know” means determining if the reality that is being assessed is truly real. Truth is based on rationality applied on perceptions and sensual experiences. The truth about reality is that the senses help me see it in the physical sense, while rationality helps me understand its truth. Plato believed that reality is based on the duality of the universe. According to our readings, Plato tried to resolve the difficulty of determining whether reality is permanently changing or permanently unchanging. He proposed that there are two different worlds- the world of “Becoming” and the world of “Being.” The world of being is the “physical world.” The world of “Being” pertains to permanently unchanging truths that can only be known through reason. This “Being” world is timeless and eternal. Furthermore, the world of “Being” is a place where “Forms” exist. “Forms” are the ideal essence of all things. In real life, people do not experience the “Forms.” Instead, they only see superficial examples of the “Forms.” In the “Allegory of the Cave,” Plato presented a metaphor, where people are like those in the cave who only see the shadows of the “Forms.” What they see is false. They think they see horses. They think they see justice. Oftentimes, these are examples, mostly poor ones, of the “Forms.” People, nevertheless, can “participate” in understanding the real permanent nature of the “Forms” through assiduous study, reflection, and logic. The faculty of reason will help people understand pure innate ideas that are the “Forms.” Plato’s metaphysical view allows him to achieve his epistemological goals, where rationality is employed to differentiate justified opinion from true knowledge. Opinions may be accurate, but they do not always lead to true knowledge of the “Forms.” Plato offered a visual analogy to demonstrate the equivalent levels in his metaphysics and epistemology. In this analogy, the world of Appearance is where people live. They are in the “Visible World.” People can do their best in knowing reality and the truth, but the highest they can attain is “Opinion.” Opinions vary and they change because they are based on the world of “Becoming” which is constantly changing, transforming, appearing, and vanishing. Plato will reject my idea that using the senses is a starting point of seeing and understanding reality. He will commend my use of reasoning in determining the truth of my reality, but he would want me to go straight to reasoning without the muddling of my senses. He will argue that the supreme Form of knowledge about reality is not out there to be seen, heard, felt, or tasted. It is inside the mind. Humans have innate knowledge in them that will be the foundation in finding the truth about reality. Plato will emphasize that knowledge is innate. It cannot be found outside, but inside people’s soul or their core. In Meno, Plato says: “For as all nature is akin, and the soul has (already) learned all things, there is no difficulty in learning all the rest, if a man is strenuous and does not faint; for all enquiry is but recollection.” Truth is inside us, although to know it is a supremely difficult endeavor. Aristotle will be more compassionate and understanding of my belief. He will commend me for walking toward the right direction. Aristotle asserted that forms (with a lowercase f) were entrenched in physical objects, existing entirely within the natural order. He stated that every “thing” that exists has two elements: a material element and a formal element. People can separate them theoretically, but in reality, they co-exist. Aristotle’s metaphysical system provides two categories of things: Matter (in Greek, hyle), which refers to the general “stuff” that makes up the material universe, and Form, which is the essence of a thing. Matter plus form produce substance that we see in the universe. Moreover, Aristotle argued that everything has a purpose. Formal design is a fundamental principle of the universe. “Nature does nothing in vain” because natural processes have rational ends. Entelechy is one of the basic concepts of Aristotle. He said: “Nature, like mind, always acts for a purpose, and this purpose is its end. That it should be so is according to nature.” Entelechy is the inner drive that forces all things to attain their purpose in life. Aristotle will tell me to use my senses to find the order of the world. From there, I will entelechy in action. I will receive true knowledge about reality. The Forms are around us. We only have to see their formal elements, so that the truth will be revealed. In the case of reality shows, they are “real” only because directors tend to show more than what TV normally shows. Nevertheless, they are not “real” because many factors are still controlled and manipulated to produce particular effects on participants and the audience. I am not saying that the participants and viewers are passive recipients of what is done to them. Nevertheless, as an audience, I cannot see “everything” that will help me know if they are real. These clippings of taped lives are not the definitive sources of reality. To know what is real, I must know if it is true. My justification process is that I can know reality through the outside-inward-outside cycle. I use the outside for analysis and evaluation inside, and I apply my findings to what I see outside. This process, unfortunately, cannot always be realistically applied to all news and information. Still, I believe that Aristotle and Plato can have a meeting point. To see is to believe, but only after rationality is applied. Reference Plato. (n.d.). Meno. Class Readings. Read More