Starting with the myth of the cave, Plato distinguishes the problem of reality and falsehood. When he asks Glaucon if he would share his accumulated knowledge with other people, he replies that he would not, because they would laugh at him or even kill him. Since observations are the same from Antiquity to Modern Times and continue in the present day, then the truth reveals a part of human nature, and it really does go through three phases.
Why is the first phase ridicule, though? People get hurt because they allow pain to affect them, perceiving it as something serious. And if we look at any situation with ridicule, we take away some of its weight.
So the first phase is a defense mechanism. Apparently, our instinct is to protect ourselves from anything new, even before we have determined whether it is right or wrong. And behind this is the fear of the unknown. Science easily supports this claim because this fear is innate in us. Schopenhauer compares us to animals, but with the difference that we are aware of our existence, which makes us unhappy. If our subconscious instinct did not stop us, we would value life too little to protect it. And that is why people often go to extremes. Extremes bring stability, which is the opposite of the unknown.
Speaking of extremes, this is how Arthur Schopenhauer’s own thought begins. The first word is “every,” which certainly points to unambiguity. If the German philosopher himself tends toward categoricalness, knowing that Socrates’ words, “I know that I know nothing,” haunt us at every turn, then shouldn’t his statement be simply a product of human nature, which has turned out to be sweet to the taste precisely because of the stability that extremes in expression bring, rather than a source of truth?
In the Middle Ages, it was believed that every work of art or science was the work of God, who used us as conduits. Since human discoveries and thoughts were not denied during the Dark Ages, then they too can be a source of truth. But what is truth anyway? Simply put, it is knowledge. And knowledge gives power. Without quoting Star Wars, we know that power brings responsibility. Then it is perfectly logical to run away from the truth. Which leads to the next phase – denial. In his play The Lower Depths, Maxim Gorky links the theme to that of freedom: “Truth is the God of free people.” The next sentence in the script is an address to the other characters, reproaching them for not being free. And that is why they need lies. In addition to responsibility, knowledge also brings freedom. Erich Fromm wrote an entire book entitled “Escape from Freedom.”
However, the reasons behind this escape may be far more superficial and simple. Why should truth be the highest value after all? This is what hedonists preach. Ultimately, everything we accumulate in our lives will go with us when we die. So why make unnecessary efforts when we can indulge in pleasure? St. Augustine was also a hedonist. If he had not changed his way of life, his name would not have been preceded by this title and he would have sunk into oblivion. So not everything went away with him after all. This knowledge remains in the mind and at some point will actually be accepted as obvious. Because people don’t like to be wrong. Here comes the problem of human pride, which is viewed by Carl Jung as a form of self-deception.
Changes come slowly, but then they become established, and when that happens, they tend to go to extremes. We observe this process in human history through uprisings. The outcomes of both the French Revolution and the April Uprising can be seen as largely disappointing. In France, while feudal privileges were abolished, wealth and property remained concentrated, with the top 1% owning a majority of assets by 1910.
Agricultural and industrial growth was slow, population growth lagged behind other European powers, and political instability persisted for decades. The Revolution’s social and economic promises were therefore only partially realized. Similarly, the April Uprising of 1876 in Bulgaria was militarily crushed, with around 12,000–30,000 civilian deaths and many villages destroyed.
Change does not happen instantly, and even after the Liberation itself, a long process of adaptation followed, which in some respects is still ongoing. But today it would be difficult to find someone who could say without hesitation: “If there is no bread, eat cake!”
It is now a well-known fact that science also makes mistakes and changes its mind. Before the discovery of the electron by Joseph Thomson at the end of the 19th century, it was believed that the atom was the smallest indivisible particle. Now it turns out that such a particle has not yet been discovered, and may never be. That is why nowadays, few things are taken for granted, and everything is subject to doubt.
Generalization always carries pitfalls with it, because people are very different, but at the same time,e they are similar enough to collectively kill the truth with stones in the cave of their self-deception.