An Essay on Fight Club

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Philosophy can be found everywhere. Like math, it is used to solve problems, or at least used to begin to understand those problems. Most individuals expect to heighten their philosophical knowledge through readings or by reading a professors notes. One may even consult their own mind to help them grasp a concept of a philosophy. Attainting philosophical guidance by the sources above is common yet it is also quite common to see philosophical themes in movies and novels. A movie with a philosophical message is “Fight Club”. The movie “Fight Club” examines an idealistic question known as “What is Real?” though the main character. The movie examines three idealistic statements: One cannot trust appearances to determine what is real, one sees and feels only what their subconscious mind allows them to see and feel, and finally, ones mind determines what is personally real.

Primarily, one must understand that the answer to “What is Real?” is solely based on their personal view of reality. The question of “What is Real?” may seem to be categorized as having an answer that is subjective but it also has qualities that make it an objective idea as well. The cause of this is based on the fact that appearances may be deceptive. In an article written by Donald Simanek of Lockhaven University, Donald speaks of reality and how nature can be misleading. Donald speaks of Ernst Mach as well as his philosophies. Mach, who is an Austrian philosopher and physicist, believed that, “the only real things were those that we could see, feel, hear, and touch – things accessible to our unaided senses”(Simanek). This idea is not only true in real life but it is exactly what the narrator in “Fight Club” is experiencing. The narrator strongly believes appear...

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... very often in the movie “Fight Club” as the main character struggles with “What is Real?”. The main character shapes his thoughts unconsciously so that he believes in something that is real to him but not the world. In other words, our minds determine what is personally real.

Many movies are created without the notion of conveying any sort of message. The movie “Fight Club” relates the problems faced by the main character to philosophy but more specifically, to Idealism. It is both frightening and intriguing to know that ones mind can control ones perceptions of reality and whether or not what they are seeing is real. In summary, idealism offers the idea that ones mind determines what is real based on their perceptions of the physical world. With perceptions being completely different from one individual to the next, determining what is real may be indefinable.

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