Plato described the cosmos as being created by the Craftsman as a living entity with a soul. Since it is a creation it has attributes that all living things share. The cosmos is also separated into two realms, the physical and the eternal. The physical world is one the is ever adapting in both a negative and positive manner and will at some point cease to exist. The eternal is stagnant and without change because it is ruled by reason (Plato, & Jowett 1990). The universe is both physical and eternal because the universe changes and the change must be caused by something. Plato believes this to be the Craftsman. However, since there is a sense of balance in the universe the Craftsman had to have based it on an eternal model. The elements of the Earth were once mixed and in constant chaos and flux as they were mixed together. The Craftsman’s first act in creating the universe was to separate them into water, air, fire and earth. He then put souls in the bodies of all intelligent creatures. Since the universe, itself is an intelligent creation, it also receives a soul (Plato, & Jowett 1990)
In both The Cave and The Matrix the people are unaware that their reality is not the only one that exists. The prisoners of the cave do not know that they are prisoners and believe that the life that they are living (being chained and unable to see behind them) is normal. When offered a way out they are unable to understand and fear being ripped from their reality. In The Matrix Orpheus and Trinity reveal to Neo that the reality that humankind believes that they are in is the result of a mass conscious connection. The reality is humankind is asleep in pods and they are powering a world that is ruled by robots. Like the prisoner who is freed and returns to the cave to tell about the other reality that exists, and is met with fear( Acrobat741 2007). Neo, Orpheus and Trinity try to reveal the truth to others only to discover that people are not receptive due to fear of the unknown.
References
Acrobat741. (2007, November 17). The Matrix and the Cave. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRNMZEDOBrM
Plato, & Jowett, B. (1990). Timaeus. Champaign, IL: Project Gutenberg.
