RAYMUNDO, Niña Marienela 30 January 2018

2014-00161-MN-0 Professor Rivas

BS Architecture 4-2

Thought Paper No. 2

Philosophy

The discussion encircles the concept of reality and how it has come to be. Prof. Rivas has
explained that reality was initially conceptualized by two Greek philosophers namely Heraclitus
and Parmenides. According the former, “In the beginning there was many”, and to the latter, “In
the beginning there was one”. I understand it as a basis of what we think reality is. Do we have
different realities or is there a one true reality? The theory of relativity is one of the main scientific
contribution that help change the world and revolutionize science. Albert Einstein disproved the
theory of Isaac Newton, claiming that time and space is relative. Usain bolt might feel that time
was faster while he competes in a race because he was moving at a faster speed than everyone
else. In line with discussion, this proves that reality is relative to one’s point of view. It is
determined by experiences and exterior factors that a person collects from his/her environment.
That we have a preconceived reality and assumptions based on what we recall. These factors
have a profound impact to the belief a person has which can influence the way he perceives
reality.

Plato, one of the students of Socrates, and one of greatest philosophers ever lived was
fascinated in search for permanence. But he didn’t find it on organic and inorganic substance,
instead he found it in a philosophical perspective. He identified that permanence can only be
found in change. That reality then and now is constantly changing. But how to do we define
reality? Do we define things based on our senses or does it have to be in form? How do we know
what lies beyond our limited senses? There is this case of a blind worm that I watched from the
movie, “I Origins”, as I recall, due to its blindness it was unable to clench to the fact that there is
a bigger world outside of its skin. Therefore, if reality is based on our senses how do we know
things that are out of our reach as human beings. It reminded me of the allegory of the cave a
philosophical context constructed by Plato in his book The Republic. Based from my
understanding, it reflects on man’s ignorance and choice to seek for the real. Three men were
locked up to spend their lives in a cave facing the wall, living to see only shadows cast by the fire
behind them. They got used to these shadows until one day, one of the men got out of the cave.
This has shocked the man, that was a world that lies behind that shadows in the cave. He came
back to release the other two men but they thought he had grown crazy. This reflects that men
chooses ignorance instead of seeing the light. Because we are afraid that it will disprove what we
know, our past experiences, and our reality. Will we choose the light over the shadow?