Philosophy

Every modern culture has its own unique concept of the ideal physical attributes. In the recent years, United States are fanatically obsessed with their image. Previously, pictures of a lean model were seen in television commercials, billboards and fashion print ads. There was a big distinction between the accepted norm of the society and superficial images on the runways. However, in todays generation, these two images collide. The media and television have created a standard with fresh culture of reality. Appearance of a person being the focus for obtaining self confidence, televisions and media have unenthusiastically impacted the sense of a healthy image of an individual especially for women.

However, according to Plato, the transcendent world to the materialization of the happiness is more important than physical appearance. He further reiterated that attending and indwelling the sense of spirituality and image as an impression that surrounds the image of a person is the basic measurement of reality. He suggested that obsession of an image (that has been rejected in the light of reason of brightness) is a mere metaphor. This vision of obsession passes through a medium that can only be comprehended in the languages of optics, physics and others. Thus, for Plato, the subject of an obsession of an image is an ideal form of a man that is timeless and unchanging.

Research shows that reality television, fashion magazines and other media related sources directly affect its consumer. Reality TV shows, for example, boosts self confidence and self-esteem of their viewer if the image in the television is the same as their image. However, these kinds of shows also contribute negative effect by setting a standard for what is considered to be ugly. Thus, Platos principle regarding the two spheres of reality (what is real and what appears to be real) is necessary in understanding the view between appearance and reality. An immediate look at the principle itself does not correspond to an immediate understanding of the meaning. In short, every individual should see himself or herself in relation to what exist and what does not. In addition, the principle is extended in the notion between truth and morality, true and false, good and bad, right and wrong, and other forms of dialectics.

Moreover, even though media is essential to the society, it may give negative feedback through the portrayals of image of being beautiful. Today, the idea of being thin is the motivation of most individual in body image and eating issues. The image that someone saw in the television and other media sources cultivates the manipulated theory of an appearance versus reality. The constant thin ideal of most individual is largely to blame for obsession with an image. In this sense, it is more similar to Platos philosophy that tackles the principle of appearance, reality and enlightenment. Its principal methods reflect evidences that have served as its measure of reality. Moreover, the principles that have been drawn from the theory of appearance and reality cannot be removed by mere substitutions and repetitive changes in fact or meaning.

Most people are aware of the societys emphasis in the significance of appearance because it is a socially generalized sanctioned standard of beauty. However, aside from the outside beauty that can be seen from a person is the reality that internalizes among strong-minded individuals that reject contemporary standards of obsession of physical appearance. As such, this principle is the fact that philosophical concept of reality and appearance is no longer turned away from any individual, but rather a new concept that is an image of future utopia.