On Jan. 25, Commonwealth College students filled the Student Union Ballroom to attend the latest installment in the “Ideas that Changed the World” Faculty Lecture Series.
The seminar, entitled “Seeing the Light in the 21st Century: R U Still in Plato’s Cave,” featured Scott Auerbach, a professor in both the chemistry and chemical engineering department.
Auerbach graduated in 1988 from Georgetown University and then went on to gain his doctoral degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He opened his talk by asking the audience to form teams of two so they could ask each other questions about the lecture before it began.
After a brief chatter from the audience, Auerbach countered with what questions he thought the audience may ask. Some of these included “What is the cave?,” “Why the U is in the title of the lecture?,” and for students required to be in attendance for a class “How do I get an A?”
After showing the clip “Plato’s Cave,” Auerbach delved into the main point of his lecture. “We think we are hearing the real thing, we are only hearing echos, we are only seeing shadows,” stated the speaker in response to the mini-film.
The audience consisted of mostly Commonwealth College students and professors, and Auerbach considered this by giving a brief history behind the story of the cave. The allegory of the cave is a classic piece from Plato’s “Republic.” The allegory tells the story of prisoners chained in a cave, lit by fire. The prisoners are facing the opposite wall, so the only thing they are able to see is the shadows that dance on the wall in front of them. One prisoner is set free and is excited to share the tales of the outside, sunlit world, yet his fellow prisoners do not understand what he is saying because they have not experienced it for themselves. The topics illustrated in the allegory include being shackled, and then having the ability to find true light. Auerbach entertained and intertwined these throughout his discussions.
By writing and teaching the themes in “The Republic,” Plato was interested in inspiring the youth, which Auerbach related to modern university study. “He wanted to find someone interested in mathematics, astronomy and philosophy. He was talking to the current generation of Commonwealth College students,” said Auerback, which elicited laughter from the packed ballroom.
Auerbach continued to make pop culture references, framing movies such as “The Matrix” and “Tommy” as parallels to the allegory of the cave.
The second half of Auerbach’s lecture focused namely on the idea of balance, and the yin and yang. He argued science can trace its roots deep into the idea that faith, or the yin, and reason, the yang, are heavily intertwined. This relationship is therefore more meaningful because they can co-exist. This assertion, while perplexing to some of the science majors in attendance, came with further explanation by Auerbach, “In order to understand distinction you must first realize the connection between them,” he said.
Following the discussion about balance, Auerbach further discussed the intrinsic need for human connection and asked the main question, “Does texting give authentic human connection?”
One audience member asked, “How do we define authentic human connection?”
Auerbach drew on the idea illustrated by author Robert M. Pirsig in his 1974 novel “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” saying “You know it when you feel it, and I think we have all felt it.”
To answer his own question, Auerbach claimed texting is an inauthentic connection which therefore leads to obsessive texting in the modern world. Auerbach listed many different yin and yang type comparisons; white versus black, fire versus water, light versus dark, to name the obvious. The list also included word versus image and connection versus detachment. Auerbach said texting incorporates word and connection, but emphasized more of the word, than connection and therefore led to an imbalance between yin and yang.
Auerbach concluded his discussion saying that “If we seek balance, maybe humanity will get out of the cave. Each of us has the power to choose if there is true light, or a balance of the mind.”
Following the discussion a professor of political science, Ray LaRaja, said “Even at home or with friends, Scott [Auerbach] is always challenging us to think in terms of yin and yang, and pulling from fields of science and philosophy. He lives his life this way, trying to find balance. It’s impressive and inspiring.”
Ashley Berger can be reached at [email protected].
