Explore how Goldings categories of thinkers build upon Platos Essay

Explore how Goldings categories of thinkers build upon Platos discussion of the soul as it journeys into the light and out of the light - Essay Example Goulding argues that detachment from the popular perception of reality takes an individual to the grade-one level of thinking, while blindly following the norms would be an attribute of grade-three thinkers. Similarly, in the ‘Allegory of the Cave’, Plato narrates that once a prisoner had been freed, he understands the reality behind the shadows. In this context, it is crucial to understand Goulding`s attribution of grades to the people. His obsession with ‘thinking’ led him to the conclusion that he himself cannot think at all. It was back in school when he observed the statuettes of his headmaster who had asked him, â€Å"Don`t you ever think at all?’. He sought inspiration from his teachers to initiate the process of thinking, which seems too complex at the time. He was even more confused when he realized that those who claimed to think themselves exhibited self destructive behavior for instance drinking, or staring at attractive women. These kinds of people are attributed as grade three thinkers, who according to Goulding are â€Å"all shouting the same thing, all warming their hands at the fire of their own prejudices†. He then says that grade two thinkers are self-contradictory as he observed in conversation with Ruth who was a Methodist by religion and followed all its ideals blindly. He fo und the courage to question her beliefs and bluntly ranting them out to her, thus claiming himself to have turned into a grade two thinker. It was when he met the German Professor Einstien who had fled from the Nazis that he claims to have become have understood what grade-one thinkers would be like. These people, quite rare in existence, question the norms and value the truth as opposed to perception and thus, their lives are characterized by wisdom, truth and knowledge. Also, by the end of the essay Goulding Claims that