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By Root 379 0

not only believed that self-reflection was essential—he thought it was desirable. Thinking critically and pursuing truth, he believed, leads to the greatest happiness. He often conveyed his teachings through stories, and one of his most famous is called the Myth of the Cave.7 In this story, Socrates describes the human condition as analogous to people who are imprisoned—chained in a dark cave, where they never see anything real, but rather, only see shadows of real people and objects as they are reflected by firelight on the walls of the cave. As far as the prisoners know, the limited existence they experience in the cave is the whole of reality. If one of those prisoners were to get free and emerge from the cave into the light, he would be temporarily blinded, much like George Sr. probably was when he emerged from his underground hiding place. In the myth, though, things are even worse for those who see the light outside the cave. They’re seeing it for the first time. After a period of adjustment, the escaped prisoners will finally see the world as it really is, rather than as shadowy reflections. They will, in fact, find that reality is far more fulfilling than cave life ever could be.

The story doesn’t end there, however. If one of the freed prisoners were to return to the cave and explain to those still chained what he’d witnessed in the world above, they would laugh at him. They would scoff because, after being in the sunlight, his sight in the darkness of the cave would be far less keen than theirs. Like Buster Bluth, the freed prisoner would be inept in the everyday world of the cave dwellers. Unlike Buster Bluth, though, this ineptitude would be the result of seeing the truth. The former prisoner of the cave would claim to be happier than those chained below, but the cave dwellers would have no interest in leaving the warm complacency of cave life.8

What does this strange story mean? Socrates thinks that most of us spend our lives shrouded in illusion. We think we’re great magicians, or awesome actors, or brilliant businessmen. Our understanding of the world is clouded and inaccurate, just like the people in the cave. Unlike the prisoners in the story, however, our chains are of our own making. We can break free anytime we like, just by opening our eyes, looking around, thinking critically, and refusing to let our minds be lulled and soothed by false but comforting beliefs. Shaking off our familiar misconceptions will be uncomfortable at first, just as it was uncomfortable for the prisoner when he first emerged into the light. But once we adjust to the sharpness and purity of reality, we’ll achieve a happiness that is equally sharp and pure, and we’ll never again be content to live a life of self-delusion. This is what Socrates called “happiness.” Happy people are those who have seen illusion and reality and are in a position to choose between them. And every person in that situation will embrace truth, even when it’s difficult or painful. Socrates says that this happiness is so compelling, he will not deviate from his pursuit of truth, no, “. . .not even if I have to die a hundred deaths.”9

The Myth of the Cave shares some things in common with the pilot of Arrested Development. Think back to the first morning we met the Bluths. Michael was excited, because he believed he would be made partner that day. Michael was living in the cave with his family. He was not seeing reality for what it really was. Though he had worked at the company faithfully every day, he was totally unaware of what had been going on around him. He didn’t know that everyone else in the family was happily living off the company money, that his twin sister had been in town for weeks, or that his father was in serious danger of being arrested for illegal business practices too numerous to mention. He dreamily reminds George Michael that family (not breakfast) is the most important thing.

George Sr.’s boat party was a turning point for Michael. It was then that Michael was yanked out of the warm, comforting darkness of the cave and shoved