Ideology vs. Fact: Why is it So Hard to Change Our Habits?

After reading Plato's Allegory of the Cave I've noticed a trend in society. There is a nonlinear trend throughout history that evokes the complex nature of human existence, and Plato talks about that through the idea of perception. Our understanding of the world is filtered through

specific cultural norms with differing political, economic, and social perspectives. Buddhism also touches on this subject claiming that our attachments to ideologies are detrimental to achieving enlightenment, the overall purpose of Buddhist practice. These perspectives are influenced by people's past experiences, parental guidance, the knowledge given to them through authority figures, and the current popular views on issues. It goes without saying that any situation can be interpreted in various ways, and more often than not the interpretations usually fall along the lines of widely accepted ideas, silencing opposing forces. The only problem with following ideologies that stem from socially norms is you run the risk of believing in uneducated ideals. Instead we should listen to FACT, SCIENCE, SCHOLARS, ACADEMICS. These are the people who have zero personal interest other than educating in the public of truths that govern our world. How could we progress if we are blinded by “popular belief” instead of facts and actual truths? Plato also discusses this very detrimental part of society, the part of human existence where changing one's understanding of the world under newly discovered facts that widens the scope of knowledge are harshly and aggressively opposed by the masses who do not want to veer from their original mode of thought. Plato believes that people are naturally comfortable in their ignorance, and this can lead to the furthering of his metaphor that people want to stay in the dark. Again, the idea that history is nonlinear and is comprised of many different truths that aren’t identified in the popular understanding of issues. How exactly do we achieve this kind of understanding, where we look for the truth as opposed to mere underwhelming perceptions that do not fully define the topic?

#change #habits #Plato #Buddhism