Posted by
Jack Fisher on Sunday, November 22, 2009 8:07:49 AM
In the annuls of Western philosophy and politics, the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato ranks among the heavyweights of notable figures that have contributed greatly to modern musings. His work had been cited many times as a source for the inspiration that later led to the free society and the American Republic. It is undeniable that the modern world owes a great deal to Plato in the Ancient Greeks. The very words 'freedom' and 'liberty' have Greek origins. Yet one concept in particular stands out that often gets overlooked in the effort to make sense of current isses. This concept is what Plato called the Noble Lie.
The Noble Lie, according to Plato, is a myth or untruth that is often of a religious or supernatural nature knowingly told by the elites to maintain social harmony. It plays off of human nature that often believes in authority figures, whether it be parents or rulers, and propogates a non-enlightened view of how the world works to the masses. These myths and untruths can keep the people from rising up and questioning the authority of the state by either claiming that the state's powers come from a supernatural force or somehow the cause of their discontent is of a supernatural origin. It has no basis in logic or reason, but because the populace doesn't have the knowledge or capacity to disprove the stories they are assumed on faith.
The reason this was so important was because in Plato's view, society was highly stratified. The enlightened elites that ruled society from the top down were privy to the concepts of reason and logic while the vast majority of the population had no such luxuries. It would be inefficient and detrimental to the state if they tried to teach every human being in the society the logic behind their rule because not everybody is inclined to understand it and even those that do may not be inclined to believe it. So for the benefit of the rulers and the population, the Noble Lie is used to keep the rulers in power so they can focus on matters of state and the citizens content with the false knowledge that has been fed to them.
Since Plato's time, a lot has changed. Society has become more enlightened and knowledge has become more widespread and available. Yet the Noble Lie persists in the form of modern religion. Plato understood as do many other philosophers that there are two big brokers of power. One is religion and the other is government. While the government is ordained by law, religion is a more complicated force. It is ordained by prophets, myths, and alleged revelations. One notable difference between the two is that religion is often a lot slower to change and adapt with the ongoing shifts in modern society. Whereas government can make new laws, religion often requires a whole new set or revelations or a new set of prophets. In an uneducated populace this wasn't much of a problem in pre-modern times, but now that the populace is more educated the act of adapting for religion becomes much harder. This is why Plato often asserted that the rulers should use the Noble Lie to overtly guide religion into a system that best reflected the needs and goals of the state. Governmet, however, has long since lost control of religion and in a free society religion has taken on a new and more complicated existance.
The Noble Lie that ancient rulers used, albeit overtly or unknowingly, propogates today in the modern Christian Right and the culture wars that surround it. These groups, composed of the religious leaders that now control the message of the Noble Lie, now no longer aid the goal of the state. They challenge it. In Western society a great many of the causes pushed by the Christian Right and other religious organizations is at odds with the notion of freedom and liberty. They stand against homosexuality, pornography, free speech, science, and oftentimes the very reason that philosophers like Plato championed. They have taken the Noble Lie to a whole new level in as such they try to make the Noble Lie the absolute truth even when the evidence is to the contrary. To them, the truth is not dictated by reason. It is dicated by the supernatural forces they so dogmatically believe and anything that is different must somehow be flawed or conspiring against them.
It is a facet of the Noble Lie even Plato never could have foreseen. Thanks to movements like the Enlightenment and the Protestant Reformation, religion no longer stands as a tool of reason. It stands as an enemy of reason. Those that arrogantly cling to this Noble Lie do so with arrogant pride, at times setting themselves apart from others that believe differently. They boast how they have the truth and others do not. The true irony is that this so called truth is steeped in this concept that is known as the Noble Lie and they will not change their beliefs until all opposition has either capitulated or been rendered obsolete. It is a dangerous precedent, religious leaders asserting authority with such selfish and arrogant pride. It causes them to forget or even reject that fragile notion of humanity that allows them to relate to their fellow man on an equal footing. This concept of all individuals being of the same flaws and limitations is core tenant of the individualism that the Ancient Greeks championed. The Religious Right, especially the Christian Right in America, is going against such notions by parading their beliefs as some sacred knowledge that makes them better than everybody else.
This arrogance can come at a great cost in terms of human suffering. Religious leaders who push their arrogant social agenda are immune from the guilt and responsibility of those they hurt. The victims include those dying in Africa because of AIDS, which is made much worse by religious leaders opposing the distribution of condoms. Homosexuals throughout the world are also victims as they routinely have their rights denied and their very existence criminalized under the guise of religious zealotry. There are also the non-believers, the religous minorities, and educated scholars that shed light on the ancient myths used to justify such inhumanity. All are targets by those who abuse the concept of the Noble Lie. They are without excuse, denying their own humanity in exchange for the selfish vindication of being elevated above their fellow man.
Now does this mean that all religion and religious organizations are guilty of such atrocities? Of course not. The Noble Lie in the modern context does not denote that all religion is based on an underlying lie from the authorities. Religion propogated in the true name of spirituality, that which does not engage in outright culture wars, is a vital and often inevitable aspect of society. Human beings are often pre-disposed to such beliefs because no human being can know everything so some fil that gap with spirituality. It can be a very good thing and it can drive people to do acts of great charity.
Even major religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam can have these effects by keeping these concepts of god and spirit in the proper context. That context is and always has been the personal beliefs of the individual and the kin around them. What one person believes is theirs and theirs alone. It is only when those individuals and their peers elevate their beliefs above that of their fellow man that they succumb to the arrogant pride that drives them away from their humanity. The people of the Christian Right and many other radical religions throughout the world, including Islamic terrorists, have shunned their brothers and sisters and ignored all guilt and responsibility. They are the true danger to freedom and peace and they will never understand that until they humble themselves before their fellow man. So long as their arrogant pride keeps them from doing so, conflict will continue.