Example Of Platos Cave And The Matrix Essay

It is Ancient Greece, and Plato is seeking to justify is rational foundationalism ideology. He develops an allegory to enlighten his students about the perceptions of reality. It is all in a cave, he gives a description of prisoners chained to the walls of the cave. Their movement restricted, they are unable to turn their heads and all this while their sight is fixated on the wall of the cave ahead. They can only see the shadowy shapes on the wall and to hear echoes. Unbeknown to them, there are puppeteers behind, manipulating puppets in front of a fire. Hence the shadowy images on the wall ahead.
Flash-forward in 2003, the Warchoski Brothers direct a trilogy called the Matrix. We are introduced to Neo, the protagonist, a human whose existence is realistic within his virtual world. Though not physically bound, what he see, what he knows is a product of a virtual world. The running theme in the trilogy is mankind’s quest to liberate itself from the bondage of the machines. These two stories, divided in time and space, have a common central theme; that humans’ ability is conterminous with the knowledge they possess.
- What is real?
Reality is a concept that may seem straight forward. It means that something objectively exist, that which we can touch, see, or feel. We call it the real world. We have a feeling that whatever we interact with in this manner is matter. These substances have a higher degree of relevance to us than the inanimate. Largely what we construe as real is a product of our brain activity, but is there a possibility that our notion of what is real is itself unreal? I don’t think so, because of the forces manifested by the things we consider real. This is pronounced by the inability of man to change the laws of physics that govern our universe.
- Are we under control?
- Are we programmed?
- Are we living in the Matrix right now?
In one of his visits to the Oracle, Neo alludes to the notion that his existence is through some sentient being, ‘I have these memories from my life and none of them happened’ Well, it is difficult to believe that we could be in the matrix. But our world still offers its fair share of control. This control is about how we perceive things, what is relevant to us presently. It is arguable that our consumer habits are dictated by forces beyond our whim. The need to buy a flashy car is dictated by the manufacturers. What is our basis of rational thinking is equally manipulated?