OUR SENSES: A DANGEROUS GIFT :: essays research papers

The issue of our mistrust and or trust in our humanly senses remains a building block for philosophies of many notorious philosophers. In the discussions The Allegory of the Cave written by Plato and Meditation The runway to Enlightenment by Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha, both analyze the issue of our senses. Both philosophies argon reasonably logical and realistic in their approach to the humanly senses and whether or not they should be trusted or mistrusted, however, they seem to contradict all(prenominal) other somewhat. In both discussions, our senses are essential to reach our so called goals in life In Platos discussion, our goal is to find truth and in Buddhas discussion, to reach enlightenment. Platos philosophy holds senses to be of an wary or false guide to realism. He argues that if everyone relied on their senses to interpret reality and find the Truth, everyone has different perceptions of their senses and the reality would be different depending upon the individ ual. Basically Plato suggests that our senses raise be a distraction from the Truth, and therefore, should not be trusted. Buddhas ratiocination of the senses is slightly different from those of Plato. Buddha chooses to not focus on the falsity of our humanly senses, but the element of predilection and how that can alter our perceptions. If we see something as it really is, without integrating our imagination, we are given a freedom to begin to a true understanding of the world. Therefore, Buddha suggests that the senses can be trusted, however the imagination is untamed and when mixed with our senses, creates a distorted perception. The main discrepancy amongst the two philosophers is that Plato believes that senses themselves should be mistrusted, and Buddha believes that only our senses combined with our imaginations are to be mistrusted.