Plato’s the Republic and Darren Aronofsky’s Pi

In Plato’s The Republic and Darren Aronofsky’s Pi the main characters try to expand their knowledge to understand the universe.  In Plato’s The Republic, the philosopher explains how learning new knowledge isn’t easy to comprehend at first but becomes clearer over time.  Plato’s example shows the philosopher being unchained and turning around to look at the fire; being blinded by the light at first, but eventually becoming accustomed to it. Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, shows Socrates’ philosophy through the eyes of the main character, Max.  It explains how people know everything, but knowledge is locked until life experiences, which are different for every person, are unlocked.  The philosopher and Max show that in order to gain absolute knowledge one must lose contact with perceived reality.

Plato’s The Republic discusses how growing up knowing only one way of thinking then being exposed to a newer, more advanced version of learning will be difficult to comprehend, but eventually one can adjust to it. He describes this advanced way of thinking as unpopular because it requires change. People would rather continue learning about “shadows on the walls of the cave” than being released from “the bonds” and “look at the light” (Plato, 228).  People would rather stay in the dark and excel with others than gain more knowledge with a select few individuals. Those who come out of the darkness are considered less intelligent because they don’t have the same way of thinking as those stuck in the dark.

In the movie Pi, Max proves Socrates’ philosophy by experiences he has during the movie.  One example of this is during one of his hallucinations, Max is trying to copy the number that is on his computer.  He suddenly stops because he realizes the number signifies the golden ratio in the pattern of humans. The number showed Max the true reality which caused him to become overwhelmed.  This relates to The Republic because when the philosopher was shown a new way to see the figures he was overwhelmed at first, but through perseverance was able to understand a new way of seeing things.  

The comparisons between The Republic, Pi and the real world are plentiful.  The Republic can be compared to the real world through how far human knowledge can go. While most people will stay in the dark and not expand their minds many will go through  different stages of expanding their knowledge. Although many people that take the initiative to expand their knowledge, few will be able to “look toward the light itself” (Plato, 229).

In The Republic, the philosopher proves to gain complete wisdom one must dedicate a lifetime of commitment to the process of attaining knowledge and eventually stepping into the light.  If someone has a more advanced way of thinking but is forced to think at a lower level before being able to adjust to that way of thinking, is being set up to fail. The ability to go from dark to light or vice-versa is a tedious path because neither group wants to leave what they’re accustomed to. If someone was to change their perspective and had to “compete again in judging those shadows” with people who have always been taught that way, he in turn would be “laughed at” (Plato, 230).  Based on the quote, being told to think when changing perspectives without having time to adjust leads to failure. Once one has learned an easier way of doing something, going back to the old way isn’t easy and unnecessary.