The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the RealWilliam Irwin Is the world around us truly as it appears or are we inert bodies in tanks, our brains subjected to electronic stimulation creating a make-believe world of hallucination? The Keanu Reeves cult sci-fi movie, The Matrix, vividly conveyed the excitement and the horror of a fake world made of nothing but perceptions, substituting for a real world of grim despair. Since The Matrix is probably the most overtly philosophical movie ever to have come out of Hollywood it has popularised issues on which philosophers have a lot to say. The Matrix and Philosophy is from the same team of cool, capable, young philosophers who created The Simpsons and Philosophy, which redefined the market for a work by serious philosophers. It has 20 new, thoughtful essays on philosophical problems raised by The Matrix, many of which focus on the issues "Can we be sure the world is really there, and if not, what should we do about it?" The book also explores other philosophical puzzles including ethical ones like Cypher's decision to choose a pleasurable fake world over a wretched real one. |
Contents
Skepticism Morality and The Matrix | 16 |
Seeing Believing Touching Truth | 41 |
The Metaphysics of The Matrix | 55 |
Copyright | |
9 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
actually Agent Smith argues artificial asks authenticity beliefs body brain Buddhist cave characters choice choose Christian claim concept consciousness consensus genres coppertop cyberspace Cypher Descartes Descartes's dream eliminative materialism Enlightenment evil example existence eXistenZ experience machine fact false feel fiction film's freedom genre films happiness hero human idea illusion illusory inauthenticity individual Keanu Reeves knowledge living Matrix Matrix Possibility means mental metaphysics mirror moral Morpheus Morpheus's movie narrative nature Nebuchadnezzar Neo's notion objects one's Oracle Oracle's philosophical physical Plato's plug postmodern prison problem question real world reason red pill reductive materialism reflection religion religious pluralism response riences Roquentin Sartre scene seems sense simulated skepticism social Socrates sort spoon story themes there's things tion traditional Trinity true Truman Show truth ultimate underground University unreal viewers virtual reality virtual world Wachowski Wachowski brothers X-Files