The Limits of Shadows in our Minds

I just finished reading a dialogue written by Plato called "The Allegory of the Cave". The way the story was written was a little hard to follow at first, but as I was reading, I began to understand the point Plato was attempting to make. At first, as he is describing the prisoners in the cave only see the shadows, I understood that he was comparing how they perceived the shadows as reality because they didn't know any different, to how a person comes into this world, with no real knowledge of anything. Once the prisoner is released, he sees the objects that made the shadows he believed to be real. It dawns on him that the objects are reality, and what he previously thought was his reality (the shadows)were false. This mirrors a child starting to discover life, beginning the learning process. The prisoner doesn't know that his new truth is also a miss-truth, but learns this as well when he is made to go out of the cave and look at the sun. Its painful for him to see the light because it hurts his eyes after so long in the dark, but also to come to an understanding that everything he's known so far in his life is untrue, and to find out that the world around him is far greater than his imagination could have ever come up with. This is a comparison to a child growing to an adult, and going out into the world for the first time. There are many painful learning experiences that happen, but each teaches a person something, and allows this person to gain true knowledge.

I think the point of Plato's entire argument is that until a person acquires the knowledge of reality, he can not fully understand the way the world works. If a person isn't given the opportunity to learn, he will always be in the dark, believing everything he sees as truth. Once that person has a means to learn, he should learn as much as he can and use that knowledge for good. Once educated, people have the power to make a change in the world. They also must make the choice whether to use their knowledge for benefit of all or for benefit of only themselves (good or evil). Once he has full knowledge, in order to keep him in the perspective of appreciating the value of that knowledge, the person should be made to go back to where he began, as in into the cave, and teach those who haven't begun to gain knowledge,as in to the prisoners still there, to remind himself of false beliefs he once had. Only then, will this person have achieved the highest form of understanding, and know how to use it for good.

At least this is what I think this story means!

Magic Little Pills... Prescription Drug Advertising

I finally decided on the subject of ads that I wanted to analyze. I was really having a tough time picking just one ad, because there were so many posted on the internet, and so many good ones, I just couldn't make a decision. I finally decided that I would approach it from another direction. I sat down, and just started listing ads and commercials that I could remember off the top of my head. Then I took that list, and broke it down into categories, one of which I titled "Ads that most annoy me".... which is where I found my topic... Prescription drug ads.

There is a drug for every ailment, whether real or imagined. Even if you really don't have a particular affliction, I am sure there is a doctor somewhere that will tell you that you do and write you a prescription for a medicine you don't need. I just wonder if people weren't bombarded with all these drug commercials and ads, if the number of pills taken every day wouldn't decrease. My argument will touch on how big the Pharmaceutical industry is. Also, how doctors have lost touch with patients and really treating illness,but instead pushing drugs in their hands for that big incentive from the drug company. In looking through hundreds of print ads for days, and comparing them side by side, it becomes very evident how this advertising is used and the effects it has on its audience. It is truly amazing how many ads there are out there, so I picked a few that I considered for analysis:

then, I found this one:

then, when I thought I'd be able to start writing, I saw this one, and think its notable for my argument as well:

Ok, so I kept looking at more and I found this one too:

See what I mean about there being a ton of ads about prescription drugs?