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Compare And Contrast Plato Descartes And The Cave

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Plato, Descartes, and The Matrix

Carolyn Strickland

September 27, 2015

Phil 201-B25 LUO Plato, Descartes and The Matrix
1. Compare and contrast The Matrix with the readings from Plato and Descartes. What are some similarities and differences? After reading Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave,” Descartes’ “Meditation I of the Things of Which We May Doubt,” and the synopsis of the movie The Matrix, they each challenge us on our perceptions of the truth of reality and our ability to handle learning those truths. All three of these works doubt the reality of the world around us; therefore questioning through our senses if it is materialistic, objective or simply an illusion. In The Matrix movie, the story depicts the human race trapped in a simulated, virtual or false reality that is computer generated. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” the story depicts a group of prisoners bound up in chains, being only able to perceive reality from the shadows of figures on the walls as they presented. Socrates said, “Then in every way such prisoners would deem reality to be nothing else than the shadows of the artificial object.” (Plato) In Descartes’ Meditation, he questions our ability to know that the world is not a …show more content…

Proverbs 20:12 reads, “Ears that hear and eyes that see—we get our basic equipment from God!” (HCSB) Through this biblical perspective, I am confident that everything related to this earthly world is both real and tangible based on how we perceive it through our senses. God not only tells us that He created the world around us along with our senses to perceive it; but our senses can be deceived or mislead, and that while here on Earth our senses are imperfect. Our text sums it up nicely with “While it is true that we can be misled by our senses, it is also true that they give us good information more than not.” (Dew and Foreman, 2014, p.

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