Readings from Plato and Miklós Haraszti

The article includes a discussion of passages from Plato's Law and Republic, where the four most significant passages are selected, their significance is assessed, and Plato's main ideas are engaged. are some passages from The Velvet Prison by Miklos Haraszti: Along with three sentences that were taken directly from the sections, the following ideas are also provided, starting with something that Haraszti says that makes sense to me. Second, something the author says that seems unsettling; third, something Haraszti says that is unexpected, unique, and maybe believable. In book seven, Plato illustrates the most famous allegory of the cave which is a beautiful metaphor in the western philosophy. Conspicuously, the metaphor is used to depict the effects of education to the human soul. On the other hand, Miklos Haraszti’s book illustrates what happens to artists and art under totalitarianism. Notably, the book focuses on the mutual relationship between the modern socialist state and the artists.

The first significant passage in the Plato reading is where Socrates claims that human beings live in caves that have individual specifications. The entrance of the cave has an opening to light, and it is the captives who have been in the grotto since their young ages with their necks and legs chained in the sense that they can only locate what is in front of them. The force behind and above them provide the prisoners with light (Plato, et al. 197). Notably, behind the prisoners, there is a path, though is a little bit higher and along the road, there is a wall. Along the wall, there are carrying models of people and objects, and some of the carrying models seem to be talking to each other. The reason as to why Socrates uses an allegory relating to prisoners in a cave is to show the effects and necessity of acquiring knowledge for the philosopher. The concepts of a prison also illustrate the controlled nature of education where it is tailored to serve the students.

The second most significant passage in the reading is where Plato brings out the idea that education for students must be controlled at some point. He argues that children should not be allowed to study all the time since they might end up harming themselves. Therefore, there should exist a system to control the contents of learning and that at some point, children should be stopped from learning. He alludes to a situation of a poet where much is admirably said, and much is not (Plato, and John M Cooper 198). He ends up warning that the high education has adverse outcomes to the young people.

The third most significant passage in the reading is where Plato references an escaped prisoner from the caves after he looks towards the mouth of the cave. Remarkably, the prisoner notices that the shadows he was when he was in the cave were the real versions of he saw on the walls of the cave (Ficino, Marsilio, and Arthur Farndell 45). In the passage illustrates education as a movement from one knowledge level to the next. Notably, he can illustrate that it is education that leads to understanding and knowledge, on the other hand, can free the prisoner from the cave.

Additionally, the final significant reading in the passage is where Plato can compare the visible realm of the world to the cave. The journey of the prisoner to freedom is like the role education plays in helping the learner to travel the journey of self-discovery (Hall, Robert William 12). Notably, through education, the soul can go to the world of ideas, forms of goodness and world of ways. Especially, the kind of morality includes all the other types in the world.

On the other hand, something that Haraszti says that makes sense to me is the fact that censorship has compelled not one single artist to refuse any state of honor decoration. Censorship being the suppression of free speech particularly when the government's force artist to produce art that is not criticizing the government, artists have little option other than cooperating with the state (Haraszti, Miklós 15). The truth is that the moment artists antagonize themselves with the government, there is every likelihood that they are doomed.

Also, according to the author, artists should not shy away from doing what they do best in their work and seek collaboration from like-minded so as to continue fighting for their rights. Remarkably, referring to the relationship between power and art as natural enemies is an issue that Haraszti says that seems disturbing and I cannot accept (Hammarberg, Thomas). Despite the rise in the middle class, the church and the state have always remained in unity, and there is no way the two could rival each other. The two might disagree on some methodologies and legislations, but in the end, they agree for the sake of the nation. Art was not only primarily produced for the interests of power but also for the benefit of the church.

Notably, Haraszti reference to the issue of censorship as typical gambling and a professional insult than a constraint is something that is novel and surprising, and I find it interesting and willing to accept (Haraszti, Miklós). Artists should be at liberty to express themselves, and any effort to mitigate their field should be thwarted. Freedom is simply the recognition of the necessity and therefore, there is every need to grant freedom to the artist so as to enhance creativity and talent development.

Work Cited

Ficino, Marsilio, and Arthur Farndell. When Philosophers Rule. London, Shepheard-Walwyn, 2009.

Hall, Robert William. Plato. London, Routledge, 2004.

Hammarberg, Thomas. Human Rights And A Changing Media Landscape. Strasbourg, Council Of Europe, 2012.

Haraszti, Miklós. The Media Self-Regulation Guidebook. Vienna, Office Of The Illustrative On Independence Of The Media, Organization For Security And Co-Operation In Europe, 2008.

Haraszti, Miklós. The Velvet Prison.Harmondsworth, Penguin, 2014.

Plato, and John M Cooper. Complete Works. Indianapolis [U.A.], Hackett, 2009.

Plato, et al. Plato. Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press, 2015.

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