Compare and contrast Gandhi and Plato on the issue of appearance and Essay

Compare and contrast Gandhi and Plato on the issue of appearance and reality - Essay Example pularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, and in India as the Father of the Nation was that ‘great soul’ in human form who was able to mobilize millions of people towards nonviolence through principles of nonviolence and truth; he rose to lead the Congress in 1920, during British Imperialism in India, and successfully brought an end to the British rule in India through his basic yet revolutionary principles and radical politics (Dalton, p.27). Both Plato and Gandhi, considered as highly learned super souls, possessed an ability to mobilize masses through their principles and values. Plato was the first one to differentiate between appearance and reality through his views of the world as a pale reflection of different forms as they appeared to the eye; he philosophized that the world is actually changing constantly, and all impressions, as seen, are mere forms (Gelb, 29). Plato explained his ideology of ‘world of forms,’ and their reality, through parable of prisoners in a cave; he pointed at the ‘reality’ of prisoners’ view that is restricted to their own shadows seen on the walls of the cave from the light behind them. If these prisoners are not exposed to outside world, they will tend to believe that the shadows that are visible are the forms of the world. When they are exposed to the outside world, which is the truth, they will not be able to accept it immediately and will have difficul ty in understanding and adjusting to the light and other objects of truth in the world. Through this explanation, Plato explained the relationship between knowledge and reality that is connected through wisdom. A true philosopher is the one who is in constant search of wisdom that will enable him to identify the goodness, truth, and beauty of life. Quite different in approach was Gandhi’s perception of appearance and reality, in other words conceptualization of metaphysics; were based on the issues that pervaded India for many centuries. Although Gandhi fought