...The core theme of mind and body is presented throughout the movie, The Matrix. Morpheus, the leader of the resistance, explains to Neo (also known as “The One”) that the “reality” perceived by Neo is actually “a computer-generated dream world…a neural interactive simulation”, which is known as the matrix. Reality, the perception as we know it, in actual fact, is a simulated reality created by machines to subjugate the human race. Throughout the movie, those against the resistance are hooked up to a machine that brings their mind to the simulated reality. Their physical bodies are hooked up to machines in the actual reality whereas their mind is sent to this simulated reality, making it feel as real and tricking your mind to think that you are present in this...
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...The Matrix In the movie The Matrix, several analogies and philosophies run through the story, as well as the clever naming of certain characters, places, and objects. Plato’s Theory of Ideas and the Myth of the Cave Plato believed that there were two worlds that existed, the world of the senses and the world of ideas. The sensory world was the physical matter, which was always changing and does not last forever, perceived through our senses. The world of ideas is eternal, and consists of patterns which the sensory world was made from. Plato said that we cannot get true knowledge from the sensory world, because it was always changing, and true knowledge lay in the world of ideas, where we perceived through reason, and not our senses. He said that the human being had an eternal soul that existed in the world of ideas before it inhabited the physical body. When the soul sees the imperfect sensory world, it gives the soul a faint recollection of the idea world, and it longs to return and see that idea world again. The Myth of the Cave is another way Plato explained this. He said that a group of humans are in a cave facing the back wall of the cave, and behind them is a high wall blocking the outside of the cave. Some other human-like creatures hold up some figures, above the wall, and all these humans can see are the shadows on the wall. They have been tied up in this position for their whole life. Plato said that the darkness of the cave represents the sensory world,...
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...Realities Two-Way Street Ignorance is bliss. This phrase, however comforting, is a provocative statement to the debilitating state of society and the human state of mind; the dual-edged comment is represented in both Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and the Wachoski brother’s The Matrix through universes, similar to our own, where people are in strong states of illusion and ignorance. Both have a character, which is brought to the “light” to realize this false reality and to liberate everyone else to a better reality, the “real” reality. Situations can arise where having knowledge of it can seem detrimental, however, our very existence as human beings is to live a life of bettering ourselves and the species in general through knowledge both good and bad, and the actions that take place from knowledge. People do actions and make decisions based on history from what he has done wrong or from what he has done correctly and on this basis it is a stepping stone that either good or bad having knowledge of the past, complete knowledge, helps to mold the future positively. Although blissful, avoiding reality will never be a positive action with even in modern days something such as Facebook has become our matrix keeping people away from the outside, not personally and physically interacting with others or now having games that are virtually realities allowing someone to be something else but does not benefit the world in any way. The lack of benefit world is where virtual reality does its...
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...the current reality, the senses make people believe what they are seeing, hearing, touching or feeling are real. The nervous system is the reality generator and the brain is where people load their information from the world (Newnam). People build their knowledge upon what they have experienced. Every choice a person makes is based on the knowledge he or she has acquired from his or her experience; moreover, people have absolute freedom, as Satre sates in his article “Existentialism”. Therefore, they can decide who they are going to be. However, the people in “The Matrix” do not have free thought. Throughout the film “The Matrix”, people in the Matrix and the real world believe that they have free choice and absolute freedom to determine who they are and what makes them a success; however, they do not have freedom because they are either controlled by the AI or the circumstances of their existence. People make their own decisions in the Matrix so they tend to believe that they have freedom to determine their lives. In fact, artificial intelligence is controlling the people and feeds on them. People in the Matrix live life as a prisoner. The most pathetic true is that the prisoners do not realize they are prisoners; on the contrary, they deem themselves free. People who live in the matrix feel comfortable in the environment they grew up in. They believe what they have seen and experienced is real, but they cannot see that they are chained. For example, in “The Matrix” when Cypher...
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...Do you agree with Morpheus in the Matrix that most people prefer to remain in the prisons of their minds? Please show evidence that you have carefully read the primary text(s) and viewed the film clip(s). The intent of this paper is to display the scope of the question “what is reality?” in relation to Plato’s arguments in ‘The Republic’ and the theories and inferences put forth in the film ‘The Matrix’. I will discuss the extent to which reality may be more than what appears ‘real’ to us, and I will also address the logic behind the human desire for security through examination my own thought processes. In the Plato’s Cave scenario in The Republic, the prisoner who is freed from his shackles is taken from his own world, the world as he has always known it and lead to enlightenment through the discovery of a new, better world. He is coming from a place where he is happy in his knowledge of his surroundings. When he is shown the world as it really is, he is leaving what he once believed was the only version of reality. He is shown that what he has experienced in the Cave was governed by other forces. As people, we are both enlightened and unenlightened on this matter. What is to say that we are not the prisoner? We are perfectly happy to live in the state in which we find ourselves right now, so thoughts of leaving our secure reality can be daunting. Could we not be figuratively or literally chained to a post? Are we seeing the true reality or are we simply at the inception of...
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...and our life. It is reality, until someone asks, “Are we the players or the puppets of our lives? Or are we both?” and it is such questioning of assumed certainty that characterizes postmodernism. The Matrix is a film directed by the Wachowski Brothers in 1999 portraying the rebellion of a group of people against an artificial reality that has imprisoned their mind while A Beautiful Mind directed by Ron Howard is a 2001 film that describes a man’s journey to accept the real world and ignore the imaginary one he created in his mind. Despite their contrasting nature, both texts are able to reflect postmodernist understanding through their composition and their exploration of the challenging idea of relative truth. Through this, it demonstrates that postmodernism is a way of thinking portrayed in the forms, features and structures of texts. The life that we live today is what we consider to be reality, but this is a relative truth for what proof is there that our world is real or fake? Such a concept is emphasized upon by the Wachowskis in the Matrix in which it presents a portrayal of the possibility of our world being in fact, a simulation. During the film, references are made to external sources such as Jean Baudrillard’s book of Simulcra and Simulation and Morpheus, the Greek God of Dreams in order to allude to hyperreality, a state where reality has been replaced by an illusion. As well as that, during the film, Trinity says to Neo as quoted, “The Matrix has you. Follow the...
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...Reflection Walden University Introduction to philosophy PHIL 1001 How can you prove weather at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or weather we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state? Plato For this reflection I founded it fascinating to consider different understanding of reality, I really enjoyed Plato Alegory of the cave amazing piece of art work what a great philosopher for that time period, also movie Matrix great movie directed by Wanch brothers. So questions we can all ask ourselves: Are things we see around us real, are they our reality, and how do we know that for sure, how do we know if we are dreaming or not. These are questions that unfortunately are out of our reach and only time will answer. The Alegory of the cave is a famous story from the Plato Republic, it is a profound allegory with many interpretation, and in this reflection I will compare it to the movie Matrix, and my view of reality. “ Imagine the condition of men living in a sort of cavernous chamber underground, with an entrance open to the light and a long passage all down the cave. Here they have been from childhood, chained by the leg and also by the neck, so that they cannot move and can see only what is in front of them, because the chain will not let them turn their heads. At some distance higher up is the light of a fire burning behind them, and between the prisoners and the fire is a track with a parapet built along...
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...Jeanette Sampson Professor Scheck Phil 201 February 18th, 2016 Essay There are many similarities to be found between the Matrix movie and the writings of Pluto. Both deal with the way in which we all see the reality in which we live. Is it real? Is it false? How do we know that our minds and our eyes are not deceiving us? These stories give us a glimpse of something that may be true, something that we may have not even realized. They bring to life the possibility that we may be living a false reality. In the synopsis for the Matrix, a man named Neo begins to feel as though something is wrong with his life. When he meets Morpheus and accepts the red pill that he is given, he begins to see that the world he knows is nothing but an illusion. A cleverly put together scenario in which the human race lies unconscious in giant machines meant to keep them alive while the cables connected to their brains play out a simulated false reality. Pluto’s Allegory of The Cave conveys a similar message. His scenario describes men who have spent their whole lives chained at the neck and legs inside of a cave, only able to look forward, never being able to turn their heads in any other direction. Men chained to a false reality would be the common theme between these two stories. The cables connected to the giant machines in the Matrix are the modern day neck and leg chains of Plato’s The Cave. The characters in each story are taught to only see their world from one view. Of course they...
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...Essay PHIL 201 July 7, 2014 Essay After reading these pieces I concluded that the central theme is being awaken from a false reality but each piece differs in the action that follow the awakening. The Matrix is set in a futuristic setting, where the theory of being controlled by a massive computer is a real possibility. What I find most interesting is that Plato actually describes the concept of The Matrix, almost as if Plato’s dialogue was used an inspiration. In The Matrix and Plato’s dialogue, humans are not physically living the life they perceive as “real” but are stationary beings who are forced to live a false reality prescribe to them. This is where René Descartes’ excerpt differs from the previously mentioned. The person is aware of possibility that what he knows as true could be false, that how could we know if what we are living is done consciously or if our existence is but a dream. All of the excerpts also rely on the reasoning that the mind is the sole contributor of our existence and our physical senses only respond to what the mind knows. The differences in the readings is based on the actions or possible outcomes that occur once the awakening has taken place. In The Matrix, Neo decides to act and decides to embark on a journey to discover reality not being controlled by a computer. Plato’s dialogue is different because this is based on a hypothetically theory, so while there is no physically action the questions lies in how would people respond to...
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...The movie I feel best describes one’s yearning to find self, and free will is The Matrix. The Matrix is a science fiction action film directed and written by Larry and Andy Wachowski. The story of The Matrix is set some time in the future in which the reality perceived by most humans is in real life a simulated reality developed by machines to subdue the human race. It all began when humans were at war with AI (artificial intelligence) machines created in the 21st century and they have taken over the Earth. Humans thought by “scorching” the sky, it would block out the sun and cut off the solar power required by the machines. Now we all know as humans when your food supply runs low or out we find other means to survive. The machines found other means as well……humans. The human body produces bioelectricity which the machines adapted to and used as a power source. Enslaved humans were kept docile inside the “Matrix”, a simulated world. The main character Neo has lived in this simulated world since birth, but always knew something was wrong. When contacted by Morpheus he was given the opportunity to discover what the “Matrix” is. After swallowing the red pill, Neo awakens and finds himself in a liquid-filled holding container with tubes connected to his body. He then realizes he is in one of the millions of containers inhabited by docile humans. They were being harnessed for their bioelectricity to power the machines. When the machines...
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...University of Phoenix Material Metaphysics Matrix and Essay Part 1 Matrix: Analyze metaphysics in philosophy by completing the following matrix. Provide a definition of the branch of philosophy as given in a philosophical source (the readings, supplemental materials, or outside academic sources) and list a minimum of three historical developments, theories, key contributors, and principal issues. Bullet point answers are acceptable. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ...
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...PHIL 201-B41 LUO 16 February 2015 Plato, Descartes, and The Matrix The Matrix has many similarities as well as many differences with the excerpts from Plato and Descartes. Each of these has different purposes when they were written and therefore have different opinions. One common theme that appears in each of these is the grasp of whether we humans are living in a dream or actual reality. It would not be surprising if the director of The Matrix had read each of these other pieces of writing by Descartes and Plato. In The Matrix, the main character Neo is an intelligent computer hacker that has trouble sleeping at night. He ends up receiving a pill that enables him to understand that what he is living in is just a dream and that everyone is connected through tubes of some sort. This has similarities with the excerpt from Descartes. In Descartes he starts out by explaining that what he has grown up believing to be true out to be not so true. He attempts to clear his mind of all other truths that he believed and start from fresh from what he can determine to be absolutely true for himself. The way that these two are similar is that the main characters, Neo and Descartes, are both seeking truth. Though these two are similar, they are also different. In The Matrix, it is a fictional story that says that everyone is in a dream and that they are just in the matrix. Descartes on the other hand, is written based on a belief. He is trying to determine what is absolutely true. The...
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...Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave and Wachowski’s The Matrix Today’s modern media and society are greatly influenced by not-so-modern artists, philosophers, and writers. We have all watched, read, or analyzed something that was based off of the idea of someone before us. One example for this would be the movie Inception (2010), directed by Christopher Nolan. In this movie the depiction between the idea of a dream and reality is extremely contrasted to the point where it is difficult to draw the line between what is or is not real. The mind boggling adventure of this movie makes us wonder; did the director draw this idea from thin air? The answer is no. In fact, the animated film Paprika (2007), directed by Satoshi Kon directly resembles the ideas and concepts of Inception. This is because Paprika served as a basis for Christopher Nolan in his movie Inception. Movies, concepts, and ideas are always being interpreted or rephrased in different forms. Aside from these two movies, there are other works that are very similar by concept. Two pieces of work that will be discussed further in detail are, the philosophical work, Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Lana Wachowski’s movie, The Matrix. Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave walks the readers through a dialogue between a character named Glaucon and Plato’s former teacher, Socrates. They discuss the predisposed beliefs of humans and how those beliefs cause them to create a false reality in which they live. Plato claims that our perceptions...
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...Society As An Objective Reality The Organism and Activity The concept of social reality according to Berger and Luckmann can be considered objective and subjective in meaning, being that man sees the world in two spheres; one that is based upon ideas that he forms from socialization and of himself and one that is based upon the idea of what is present within society. It is important to note that, man cannot develop as an individual in isolation, in the same manner that the human environment cannot be constructed by man in isolation. Essentially both entities, man and the human environment or society must in conjunction, construct one another in order for them to thrive. According to Berger and Luckmann, “Men together produce a human environment, with the totality of its socio-cultural and psychological formations. None of these formations may be understood as products of man’s biological constitution, which, as indicated, provides only the outer limits for human productive activity” (Berger and Luckmann 1966) Human biology can in no way shape the complex fabric that is human conduct. Therefore, human existence, if it were thrown back on its organismic resources by themselves, would be existence in some sort of chaos. Such chaos is, however, empirically unavailable, even though one may theoretically conceive of it. Empirically, human existence takes place in a context of order, direction, stability. The question then arises: From what does the empirically existing stability...
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...Similarities and Differences of The Matrix, Plato and Descartes Frederick Kinley PHIL201-C10LUO March 17, 2014 The Matrix was a film created by the Wachowski Brothers that dealt heavily with the thought of epistemology. Epistemology is a philosophy of origin, nature and limits of human knowledge. In the Matrix the limits of human knowledge was pushed with the question of reality. Is reality real? Is what we see and do true? The question was portrayed in the film by Neo a computer hacker that had a life time nagging question inside that he just could not shake. Neo met Morpheus, a leader of an organization that could help Neo answer his question. Morpheus proposed Neo a plan to follow him take the “red pill” and find the truth or take a “blue pill” and forever stay the same. Neo agrees to take the “red pill” then is launched into a world like he had never seen before. The “Matrix” was a world where humans were only living virtual reality lives. Giant computers were placing thoughts, feelings and everyday life circumstances into their minds. Through their virtual lives they could work, play and even die. Is our reality real today? Are we just victims of a larger, grander scheme? The Allegory of the Cave is a synopsis of The Republic where people live their whole lives in the opening of a cave. The prisoner’s feet and necks are chained so they cannot leave or even turn their heads. Their whole lives the only truth they know...
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