Mariano Hurtado de Mendoza
April 22, 2014
Philosophy
Alexandra Mealla
The Matrix: Aspect on Reality and Truth
The reality and truth are similar concepts used by philosophers in epistemology and metaphysics. These branches of philosophy follow the concepts of reality, which demonstrates how things really are without the perspective of someone, and truth, which demonstrates of something that is real. Metaphysics basically is the branch of philosophy that explains in a deeper perspective the concept of reality, while epistemology explains more the concept of truth and explains on how we can use knowledge to know what is true and what is not. To summarize more simply, the concept of reality basically takes the real view of reality and not perspective, while truth is the opposite of reality taking the concept into more perspective and less on how something really is. The Matrix, a movie from Lana and Andy Wachowski, portrays the ideas of reality and truth based on how the matrix is a simulated reality for people, but the people in the matrix see that the true side of this simulation, is their perspective of the real world and what the truth of the real world is.
The Matrix is a movie showing the main concepts of reality and truth and a basic aspect is Plato’s theory on reality which states that reality changes depending on something. In this movie this theory is implied to how Neo’s reality changes based on how he escaped from the matrix and noticed that the reality and perspective changed from a normal society to an apocalyptical world. This is a mixed aspect of truth and reality due to how the reality changes, based on Plato’s Theory, but also his perspective also changes on how he doubts if anything is actually true and real. Thi...
... middle of paper ...
...s to choose between saving the world or saving Trinity. Due to how the reality is different he know what to choose and what is right and what is wrong. He knows that reality changes when he travels outside the matrix, and on how a simple computer program can’t change the whole world they live in. This is why the Matrix has flaws, complicating the simulated life of the people.
The Matrix shows the doubts on how reality and truth is or isn’t. How people actually perceive reality, truth, is really different on how other people do. The reality of something can change over time. On how choices affect the timeline of events and the future of yourself and other people. This movie makes philosophy be more understandable and have modern concept, showing how to doubt our reality, how different is the perspective and truth of people, and on how the choices affect our reality.
In chapter ten of the book “Problems from Philosophy”, by James Rachels, the author, the author discusses the possibilities of human beings living in an actually reality, or if we are just living in an illusion. Rachels guides us through concepts that try to determine wiether we are living in a world were our perception of reality is being challenged, or questioned. Rachels guides us through the topic of “Our Knowledge of the World around Us”, through the Vats and Demons, idealism, Descartes Theological Response, and direct vs. indirect realism.
In one of Plato’s works called The Allegory of the Cave he goes over what it means to get higher knowledge and the path you have to take to get to this higher knowledge. Plato also goes over how this higher knowledge or enlightenment will affect people and how they act. He ties this all together through what he calls the cave. Plato tells Glaucon a sort of story about how the cave works and what the people within the cave have to do to get to the enlightenment. A while down the road the Wachowski siblings with the help of Warner Brothers Studios made a movie titled The Matrix. This movie follows the came concept that Plato does in the cave. With saying that the world that Neo (the main character) was living in was in fact not real but a made
This student of Philosophy now sees the movie The Matrix in a whole new way after gaining an understanding of some of the underlying philosophical concepts that the writers of the movie used to develop an intriguing and well thought out plot. Some of the philosophical concepts were clear, while others were only hinted at and most likely overlooked by those unfamiliar with those concepts, as was this student when the movie first came out in theaters all those many years ago. In this part of the essay we will take a look at the obvious and not so obvious concepts of: what exactly is the Matrix and how does it related to both Descartes and Plato, can we trust our own senses once we understand what the Matrix is, and how Neo taking the Red Pill is symbolic of the beginning of the journey out of Pl...
the reality attesting to the nature or existence of an object or entity) and objective reality
The Matrix series is much more than an action-packed sci-fi thriller. After one view of this film for the second and third time, we start to notice a great deal of symbolism. This symbolism starts to paint a completely different picture than the images of humans battling machines. It is a religious story, with symbols deeply set in the Christian faith. The Matrix contains religious symbolism through its four main characters, Morpheus, Neo, Trinity and Cypher. In that each character personifies the “Father,” the “Son,” “Satan,” and the “Holy Spirit” of the Christian beliefs only shown through the amazing performances of the actors. A critic by the name of Shawn Levy said "The Matrix slams you back in your chair, pops open your eyes and leaves your jaw hanging slack in amazement."(metacritic.com)
The movie "Matrix" is drawn from an image created almost twenty-four hundred years ago by the greek philosopher, Plato in his work, ''Allegory of the Cave''.The Matrix is a 1999 American-Australian film written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. Plato, the creator of the Allegory of the Cave was a famous philosopher who was taught by the father of philosophy Socrates. Plato was explaining the perciption of reality from others views to his disciple Aristotle. The Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave share a simmilar relationship where both views the perciption of reality, but the Matrix is a revised modern perciption of the cave. In this comparison essay I am going to explain the similarities and deifferences that the Matrix and The Allegory of the Cave shares.In the Matrix, the main character,Neo,is trapped in a false reality created by AI (artificial intelligence), where as in Plato's Allegory of the Cave a prisoner is able to grasp the reality of the cave and the real life. One can see many similarities and differences in the film and the allegory. The most important similarity was between the film and the Allegory is the perception of reality.Another simmilarity that the movie Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave shares is that both Neo and the Freed man are prisoners to a system. The most important difference was that Neo never actually lived and experienced anything, but the freed man actually lived and experinced life.
The movie is about an individual name Neo who is in the search for a thing called the Matrix. As the movie develops, he is introduced to Morpheus. Morpheus comes in and asks Neo if he wants to know the actual truth. Morpheus was clear to Neo that what he would learn would change everything that he thought he knew. So, of course Neo was enticed by this. His curiosity drove him to know the entire truth. What Neo finds out is this Matrix that he has been searching for is what he precedes to be his reality. Not only that, but it is everyone’s reality. The Matrix is a reality within an individual’s mind. This reality was created by robots that took over the world. These robots trapped the human race and are using them for a never-ending energy
The character Cypher prefers to be kept in the matrix, because to him, the ignorance he has of samsara is better than enlightenment. He would rather enjoy his desires knowing fully well that they are not real. There is also a scene in the movie where neo is eating his first meal out of the matrix, where the food looks like snot and he’s wearing rags for clothes. These play on the ideas Buddha taught know as the Middle Way, which is to not allow indulgence to distract them from their work. In the movie, Morpheus asks neo “how do you define real? If you’re talking about your senses that you feel, taste, smell or see, then all you’re talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain. A major similarity between Buddhism and the Matrix is that they both emphasize that humans are not aware of the true reality before them. That human’s are blind to the real nature of this world and they must find a way to enlighten themselves. The movie emphasizes the Buddhist ideal that we must let go of our self; we have to stop giving in to our desires and to not trust our perceptions simply through our
The Matrix, directed by the Wachowski sisters, is a film that discusses free will, artificial intelligence and poses a question: ‘How do we know that our world is real?’ This question is covered in the philosophical branch of epistemology. Epistemology is a component of philosophy that is concerned with the theory of knowledge. The exploration of reality is referenced in the film when Neo discovers he has been living in an artificial world called ‘The Matrix’. He is shocked to learn that the world in which he grew up is a computer program that simulates reality. The questioning of knowledge and its irreversibility provoked by The Matrix invites the audience to wonder whether their own world is an imitation of true reality, thus making it a
The Wachowski Brothers continually highlight in their film, The Matrix, the importance of choice. The Matrix follows Neo, a computer programmer who is drawn out of a simulated reality, the Matrix, and into "the real world". This journey of leaving the Matrix and discovering a greater reality parallels the plight of the fugitive in Plato's Allegory of the Cave. However, in The Matrix, Neo's experience diverges from that of the prisoner's because Neo has choices. That element of choosing what to do or what to believe provides the certainty necessary for determining reality, according to Bertrand Russell's Problems of Philosophy. The defining moments of Neo's journey that detach The Matrix from Allegory of the Cave are Neo's three major choices: the choice to leave the Matrix, the choice to save Morpheus and the choice to believe that he is the One.
as being reality and very often there is a person making another believe in the
Trinity tells Neo, “The Matrix can not tell you who you are”. Neo is brave enough to walk away and take the red pill, just like the freed prisoner, Neo , and human kind itself, are making the first step towards personal independence.
Reality is created by the beliefs of the people around us. Something becomes real, the moment it is accepted as such by all of the people around us, and most importantly, ourselves. In the text it says, “Anything could be true… If he thinks he floats off the floor and if I simultaneously think I see him do it, then the thing happens.” (Orwell 278) Here we see Winston's realization that anything could be true, all that would be necessary would be a unanimous agreement that it is something real. In the end we live in a reality that we have created with the people surrounding us, and the
Since our senses are unable to confirm what is real and what is .not outside our mind then we have no way of knowing what is real or what is our reality. How do we know if we are dreaming or if this is reality? We don’t, from the book Meditations on First Philosophy he poses the idea that our senses deceive us the do not have the ability to decide if what we perceive is real and more importantly is the reality we sense our own? However, Zynda counterpoints Descartes rationalism with George Berkeley’s idealism. Idealism is the idea that there is nothing beyond our physical senses. Berkeley believes that your reality is your own and because it is the only one you are able to sense, it is the only reality. That what we perceive from our physical senses is reality, this counterpoints the The Matrix because The Matrix is suppose to make us question our version of reality. Descartes poses the possibility of an “evil genius” that sub-councioussly plants our sensory experiences. The Matrix uses the idea of “evil robots” as their “evil genius” planting the lucid dreams sensory details within the brains of the humans in the dystopian world. But what is the difference
The Matrix is the war between man and machine, and the possibility that reality is a deception. In a sense, the Matrix is a constant struggle of identity and reality. This struggle of identity and reality is based around the character of Thomas Anderson, an ordinary person living a mundane life.