Corrupted by Life The mind is a powerful force that drives all humans. Throughout history, many great philosophers and scientists have questioned the origins of the human mind (Jacobus 455). According to “A World of Ideas,” there are many questions that rise and are further explored about, “the nature of the mind and its relationship to consciousness, knowledge, intellect, and the other means by which we work to understand ourselves and our world” (455). In theory, the good-natured human mind is corrupted by religion, power, family and the environment. All of these factors are what shape and corrupt the human mind unconsciously. The mind is said to be good in nature. According to James Danaher, “Even if we believe that we have been equipped …show more content…
Power, a corrupter of the good-natured human mind, is but a mere illusion. It is an illusion of possessing everything in the world, having control of life and experiencing a feeling of fulfillment. An illusion, that corrupts the mind, just as in Plato’s essay, “The Allegory of the Cave,” where chained up people see only shadows that that Plato sees as illusions. Plato writes, “Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets” (582). He adds to this thought by writing, “True, he said; how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads” (582)? Plato describes how power plays an important part in corrupting the mind; he writes, “And thus our State, which is also yours, will be a reality, and not a dream only, and will be administered in a spirit unlike that of other States, in which men fight with one another about shadows only and are distracted in the struggle for power, which in their eyes is a great good” (588). In essence, power is a potent corrupter of the good-natured