The Culmination of Self-Awareness: Ignatian vs.

Platonic Ideology

Prompt #1

Andrew Roseman

Scott Harris

UNIV 392

13 June 2018
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Though successful leadership may seem, first and foremost, to require impeccable social

skills, communicative talent, pragmatism, and self-sufficiency, a degree of self-awareness proves

to be critical to the foundation of effective leadership practice. The importance of self-awareness

has been asserted for centuries, as is illustrated by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Saint Ignatius

of Loyola’s approach toward Jesuit recruit training. While both would agree that a clear perception

of one’s surroundings and self are crucial for development as a person, leader, and educator, the

importance they place upon self-awareness is a result of differing, though compatible, attitudes

and objectives for introspection and education. Ultimately, by analyzing the separate perspectives

of Plato and Ignatius, we see the value in practicing self-awareness as we navigate the complex

world of 21st century leadership.

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave illustrates the way we perceive the world, humankind’s

fundamental capacity for learning, and the danger involved when attempting to share one’s

personal truth and expanded knowledge. Plato’s conception of self-awareness and its

significance is also demonstrated throughout the text. Self-awareness, in this sense, seems to go

hand in hand with an awareness of one’s surroundings. For one to exit the cave, one must realize

both their positionality within the cave and the possibility of reality beyond the cave. This

implies that the cave dweller necessarily gains a sense of self and their personal reality: the world

they know exists within the cave and they have the capacity, once the bonds are broken and they

are able to move their heads, to explore the world beyond them. For Plato, the knowledge that is

gained from this reflexivity and a reflection upon what life was before one was educated is to be

used to educate and compel others to seek life beyond the cave as well. As Plato notes, it may be

hard to return to one’s metaphorical cave once it has been exited, but it is necessary in the name

of benefitting one’s community. Though this curiosity about oneself seems to be initiated by an
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outside source, making it a social act rather than a personal decision, the result is enhanced self-

awareness, the beginning of an education, and the subsequent choice to either remain above

ground and live life as an enlightened soul, reenter the cave and revert to darkness, or revisit

one’s abandoned community in hopes of guiding others toward the light. This complex allegory

sheds light on leadership today and the linear progression Plato asserts is necessary to become a

true philosophical leader. Plato, it seems, would suggest that in order for us to become leaders in

our own right, we need the help of those already enlightened to break our chains and guide us

toward an alternate reality, one contains a more complete truth. It is our duty then to choose what

we do with our education, though Plato thinks we need to use it to help those still in the cave. In

this way, self-awareness and leadership must be used to inspire others, create social change, and

bring the world into harmony.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, according to Chris Lowney, saw self-awareness and

introspection from a different perspective. Though Ignatian pedagogy, at least as it has been

presented at Loyola, focuses on reflection in the form of prayer and Daily Examen for the

purposes of being more contemplative and connecting with God, Lowney suggests Ignatius’s

reverence for self-awareness was influential in corporate leadership and the expansion of the

Jesuits in the 16th century. Lowney asserts that Saint Ignatius of Loyola was concerned with self-

awareness and emotional capacities as they relate to being leaders within the field of Jesuit

education, rather than to enlighten the greater society and foster harmony as Plato suggests.

Similar to Plato, Ignatius believed humans are fundamentally capable of gaining self-awareness

and gaining skills necessary to achieving success. Ignatius believed self-awareness was

necessary to creating prospective Jesuits that were rational, self-sufficient, and effective leaders

that would, most importantly, expand the Society of Jesus and produce educators that would be
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able to “reclaim” parts of Europe that had been converted to Protestantism. Self-awareness was a

vehicle for creating leaders capable of expanding the company of the Jesuits as sustainably as

possible. Lowney relates this business model to the companies of today, writing that CEOs and

leaders must be familiar with their strengths, weaknesses, and ambitions in order to be successful

in VIP positions. Self-awareness, it would appear, is crucial to being effective in achieving one’s

vocational and spiritual goals.

Though the end-goals of self-reflection seem to be oriented differently in Platonic and

Ignatian ideology, both interpretations can be easy adapted to the world of today and growing as a

leader. Constantly checking one’s reality, utilizing self-awareness to be mindful of the people and

world around us, and being advocates for the education and enlightenment of our community

would not only align with Plato’s attitudes toward self-awareness, it could enact simple acts of

social change that may result in making our world more educated and empathetic. Similarly, if we

utilize self-awareness to become better versions of ourselves and understand our emotions,

passions, and weaknesses, we can become more effective leaders in our respective pursuits.

Undoubtedly, self-awareness is necessary for any thoughtful, intelligent person, regardless of

where leadership lies.