Plato, Kant, and Habermas
Critical Thinking & Spiritual Consumption
The film, Spiritual Consumption, is a story about a society with consumerism and materialism “consuming” individuals. They act as robots and don’t think for themselves as their entire lives are dictated by false idols and social expectations. When Jim, the main protagonist, feels numb from consumerism, he changes his lifestyle and mentality, realizing that his possessions posses him. The story is based on the theories from three philosophers, Plato, Kant and Habermas, and their texts on critical thinking. Jim, while adopting the philosopher’s ideas, embarks on a journey, escaping from spiritual consumption.
The idea that individuals do not perceive the world rationally
The three philosophers create a metaphor or allegory for mankind’s condition of ignorance in regards to their perception on the world. Plato
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Plato uses the metaphor of the sun hurting the prisoner’s eye with the concept that an individual trying to rationalize may not discern the truth at first. In addition, another difficulty faced in the Allegory of the Cave was that when the prisoner would try to take his fellow prisoners outside, they would think him mad and try to kill him. This represents how people accustomed to shadows, or prejudices, would not be willing to discuss arguments peacefully and could condemn the person who thought differently. Kant also believed that individuals who attempted to become part of the majority were like animals that fell if they left their walking cart. This is because people who begin to question things face difficulties such as confusion and insecurity, but, eventually, Kant affirms, they would learn to walk. Habermas’ consequence with communicative action was the risk of a disagreement in the process of reaching