Comparing Plato, Descartes, And The Matrix

The similarities between Plato, Descartes, and The Matrix are fairly straightforward. The basic premise of all three works is that the world first perceived is not the true world. It is later revealed to the viewer, and radically changes the perception of the first view. All three of the works focus on the unreliability of man’s senses. All three of them hone in on man’s unawareness of a greater world. They all show the skepticism evident in the individuals believes, and the curiosity to see something more. In Plato’s The Republic, the individual is held captive and sees only shadows of the world above. When the prisoner frees himself from his fetters he beholds a grander world than the one he is used to and is forced to reevaluate his views.

In Descartes’ Meditation I, the world is viewed almost as simply a dream state, with no actual ties to reality beyond the clairvoyance of his doubt. In The Matrix, Neo is freed from a super computer that controls the world as he knew it before being freed. Before being freed, he had little doubt about reality, but now without being directly fed input he is able to see the reality had before as simply a sham. In conclusion, the biggest similarities between Plato’s The Republic, Descartes’ Mediation I, and the movie The Matrix are the false reality, the unreliability of man’s senses, and reveal of something more.
The differences between the three works are a little more hidden, but entirely existent if the works are thoroughly investigated.

In Plato’s Cave the world is created by fire and shadows, while in Descartes’ piece it is created by demons, and in The Matrix it is created by a super computer. Descartes and The Matrix are the closest in this aspect; they are created on purpose by another being. In Plato’s Cave the world that the individual perceives is created almost by accident by people walking on a road between the wall in front of the individual and a fire. The shadows are not an intentional effect, and are not important to the main antagonist. One of the other main differences is exactly how the individual is freed. In Plato’s Cave the protagonist frees himself, and likewise in Descartes’ Mediation I. In The Matrix however, the protagonist is freed by a third party, separate from the original world he knew. In this manner it gives the story much more emotional depth, due to the change being completely out of the control of the individual and instead places the event in the hands of a “higher power.” In conclusion, some of the biggest differences between the three works arise from the identity and intent of the antagonist, and the method of

freedom.
Between the possibilities, most people would subconsciously chose to be ignorant instead of aware of a greater world. Though consciously humans may express a desire to know of a geater meaning, most are perfectly content with what they are already aware of. This human desire to know only what one sees is evidenced by the sheer lack of investigation towards the unknown. Even when something is attributed to a higher power it is rationalized away, or explained in already existing terms. If a human believes in a god, that god is given characteristics that a human can understand, instead of trying to understand the new characteristics. Using the example of Plato’s Cave, humans assign names to different types of shadows, instead of trying to investigate exactly what the shadow is and how it came to be visible. If man investigated the source, it may cause pain as the source of his world is revealed as something else entirely. In conclusion, mankind would far rather focus on what he already knows, and be ignorant of the greater source of information.