Plato, Descartes and the Matrix.
The movie The Matrix, The allegory of the Cave by Plato and Descartes ‘Meditation have striking similarities as well the differences. All the three convey the idea that our world and life are just but an illusion. All the works also question the relationship that exists between our senses and reality. The three works attempt to question the reality in which we live. The authors feel that this seeming reality might be controlled by an external force that our senses might not decipher.
Plato, Descartes and the Matrix were pursuing what is true reality, away from the illusionary one. The differences between the three also abound as well. In the Matrix, the true reality seems to be controlled by a sophisticated computer system. Plato's cave, on the other hand, was controlled by humankind (Plato, 514 - 518 B.C.E). Finally, Descartes’ is controlled by own perceptions of some evil spirits/demons (Descartes, 1641 C.E). Through all these three views have something to do with the manipulation of the mind, they are similar regarding the way they reflect the manipulation of the mind, the way these realities are exhibited is different in perceptions. All in all the two classic philosophers’ views can well be compared to the Matrix.
Looking at Plato's Allegory of the Cave and the Matrix, it can be seen that each comes to realize the manipulating force and eventually is freed from that manipulation (Plato, 514 - 518 B.C.E). Also, looking at both stories, it can be seen that the characters have undergone manipulation since their birth and have never come to know of any other reality. For Plato's cave, the chained bondage comes up (Plato, 514 - 518 B.C.E). The victims have been like this since childhood. This is exemplified from the shadows they have been shown since childhood until they have come to believe that shadows are real. Just like in the cave, the Matrix character is enclosed in a pod and is fed with images that appear dreamlike (Wachowski and Lana, 1999). The characters have equally been in this state until they believe that is what true reality is. The only difference in both stories comes in when we are shown how these individuals come to realize the false reality. In the cave allegory, the victim only obtains freedom, not on their own, but through the whims of their controllers. On realizing the sweetness of true reality, the victim starts to contemplate its greatness (Wachowski and Lana, 1999). He experiences real happiness and pities those who are still “held captive” in the cave. Neo in the Matrix begins to raise questions his surrounding reality long before even being aware of an alternate reality (Wachowski and Lana, 1999). He, therefore, chooses the true reality and goes back to enlighten those unaware of the true reality. Through Descartes and Neo we eventually find true reality, Descartes never found his true reality but instead began to question his reason.
The biggest paradox or challenge is how we can prove that the world we are living in is real. Also how do we tell that we are not dreaming and are presently just living in a Platonic cave or are chained in some matrix? In a nutshell, the three stories show that we may not know the world we purport to know. We cannot tell whether it is a dream or reality. This is because our five senses may be deceptive. Maybe whatever we perceive by the senses is just something inputted for us by the conscious or some other external forces. All the same, I hold and believe that the reality I perceive is true. This is despite my inability to sometimes put these beliefs into reason. All I can say is "We know what we know."
References
Descartes, R.( 1641 C.E). Meditation I of the Things Which We May Doubt. Excerpt from Meditations on First Philosophy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
Plato.( 514 - 518 B.C.E). The Allegory of the Cave. Excerpt from The Republic. Book VII. California, CA: Stanford University
Wachowski, A. and Lana, W.( 1999). The Matrix. Directed by Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski. Los Angeles, LA: Warner Bros. Pictures.
