The Matrix and Ancient Philosophy, Essay Example

The 1999 film, The Matrix, is an adaption of several ancient philosophies about conveying the truth of reality. Nonetheless, the central theme is correlated with Plato’s allegory of the cave. The Matrix has a very complex story line that can be difficult to follow. Neo, the protagonist, feels like he is disconnected from society; he somehow doesn’t fit in. According to Plato, just as prisoners in the cave are unaware that they are prisoners, Neo is unaware that he is connected to a machine that is harvesting his body heat. Neo is completely unaware that the reality he thinks he is living is actually false. While trying to explain the matrix to Neo, Morpheus tells Neo that he is a prisoner of his mind. He is living the life he has formed for himself within his own mind. So in other words, just like in the cave the prisoners are mentally bound and not physically bound. Consequently, this prevents them from escaping their imprisonment. The Matrix hypothesis is based on skeptical foundations. For example, we can never be sure that we are not living in a matrix because perception is reality. Moral skepticism, appearing in the Matrix has an ancient origin. Plato started searching for truth, and for truth, he meant the absolute understanding. In Menno, he states the knowledge can be acquired, so there are two types of knowledge: the truth and knowledge of facts. The real absolute truth cannot be learned by experiencing life. So, the experiences of Neo and Morpheus don’t lead to a better understanding of the substance of life at all. Aristotle’s Metaphysics also tells us that our knowledge about the world is limited to our level of rationality and experiences. Consequently, Aristotle states that there are different motivations of perception. Thus, perception can be faulty and lead to a distorted view of the truth.

Aristotle believed that reality and knowing or perceiving the truth is a process called kinesis. The main dilemma in The Matrix is once the prisoners have perceived their reality, whether or not they want to break free. In Plato’s version of the cave allegory, he shows the cave from a negative view point. There are dark and distorted images, the prisoners are chained so they may not escape, and their voices are ill construed. Plato shows education as an escape from the cave. However, The Matrix does just the opposite. In the movie, the virtual reality is very pleasant. The inhabitants have little worry life is not harsh or difficult. The actual reality is quite the contrary. If they choose to leave the cave, life will be harsh and difficult. As a result, one of the group members betrays Neo and Morpheus because living in reality is too difficult for him. Cypher prefers the easier way of life living in the matrix. It’s not very difficult to convey why someone would choose a happy virtual life over a difficult real life. In Plato’s version it would have been very difficult to understand why someone would want to live in a cave their entire life.

The matrix is an environment in which we can’t state that “this is real” or “this is true”. We cannot exclude the possibility either. The only thing we can assume is that there is a possibility that the reality or what we perceive as reality might be true or might be a matrix. We believe that we see and experience things, but we do not know them to be true.In the movie, the matrix is an artificial world designed by computer simulation of the actual world. So, Neo and the others who have discovered what is going on are receiving inputs and outputs from the computer that is controlling them. As a result, it is hard to determine if what they believe they have awaken to is not actually input simulated to their brains by the computer. The question being raised is how one determines if he/she is living in a matrix. According to Nick Bostrom “it is not out of the question that in the history of the universe, technology will evolve that will allow beings to create computer simulations of entire worlds. There may well be vast numbers of such computer simulations, compared to just one real world. If so, there may well be many more beings who are in a matrix than beings who are not.” (Bostrom)

Dream is a theme that is constantly present in the Matrix. It is a type of dream where the critical reasoning and skepticism is deactivated. Neo, however manages to enter a state of a “lucid dreaming”. He can control the dream and becomes aware of his state without waking up. In the art world, sleep or dreaming is indicative of the unconsciousness, vulnerability, or human weakness. In the movie, dreams represent both the life in the matrix and the lack of knowledge. When humans are in the matrix, they are functioning on an unconscious level, much like people who are actually asleep. The body is on auto-pilot. The body still has all the necessary function to sustain life, but it’s as if some imaginary entity has control of it. Bostrom adds, “In the Bible, a prophet name Daniel interprets a disturbing dream of Kind Nebuchadnezzar’s. As it turns out, the dream accurately reveals what will happen in the future regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom as well as those that follow it. In The Matrix, the name of Morpheus’s ship is Nebuchadnezzar” (Bostrom)

Awakening in Matrix is ending a state of double deception. Neo is deceived about his surroundings and his body as well. Although it is impossible to conclude that he really wakes up from the dream or simply controls the dream to take a turn, dreaming that he wakes up. Nonetheless, awakening has a metaphorical meaning in the movie. When Neo is given the choice between taking that blue pill or returning back to his comfortable sleep, awakening is being alluded to. If he takes the red pill, he will be awaken to the harsh reality of the simulated world he is living in. This theme is also seen in the trial of Socrates. When Socrates is accused of disturbing the peace with his questioning format of teaching, he chooses death rather than to tell a lie. Nonetheless, in the movie, Cypher chooses the red pill. He decides to return to his ignorant state of pleasure. He enjoys eating steaks; yet he knows that this is an allusion. All the while, Neo and the other renegades run rampant in the sewer broadcasting messages of freedom from their ship.

The combination of a sense of reality and experiences add up to universal truth. The question is not whether we dream or live the real life: what we experience and learn. Some of the universal truths, desires, according to Plato’s Republic reveal themselves during sleep. So there is a need for dreams, as well as reality. The dream and the Matrix world is also a creation of the mind, however, the mind is stimulated and deprived of its critical thinking approach; skepticism. Applying skepticism would lead Neo back to reality. This movie is very thought provoking. The entire concept of virtual reality is based upon that the brain is a generator of information based on the body’s perception. So, one can dismiss thoughts or illusions of the mind as hallucination or actual truth. However, one must realize that reality is experienced as the mind constructs it. Plato argued that objects are perceived not in ultimate reality, but is something similar to a shadow of reality. So, reality is in the mind of the individual. Humans tend to believe that they perceive the world as it is, but can’t grasp the fact that what one sees is just a perception of the truth and not necessarily the truth. In the end, the question is left, is there anything that one can be sure of? Humans have five senses-touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell. Many believe that this is a good way to determine whether something is real or not. Yet, all that one feels, smell, touch, taste, and hear is produced by sensory organs, which are a part of the mind. So the possibility that one is being programed by input is always eminent. There is no true way to know if one is living in reality or in a matrix that is produced by the mind. In the end, it is hard to come to terms with the fact that reality is a manifestation of the mind.

Works Cited

Bostrom, N. 2003. Are you living in a computer simulation? Philosophical Quarterly 53:243-55.