The Matrix: Neo's Allegory Of The Cave

Descartes wonders what else that he can know by using this same logic, but first must establish the idea of God and that God is not deceiving him. He reasons that God exists because he as a mortal could not create the idea of such a powerful being, and only a being as powerful as God could have caused an idea of a God that is perfect. Descartes goes on to reason that because God is perfect, then God would not deceive him about anything. It’s not that Descartes is being deceived, but rather his lack of knowledge or understanding about the matters at hand is causing the problem he is facing.

The Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave focus on one central idea: What is real?. They engage the audience in a fictional world where people live in false realities without knowing it. They make us question our own knowledge. Their storylines connect in that the protagonist discovers that everything he knows is a big lie and now he must discover the truth. The protagonist is thrown all of the sudden into the real world and then, he continues to seek the absolute truth. Neo and the prisoner inquire whether knowing the truth is a blessing or a curse.

What if one were living through life completely bound and facing a reality that doesn't even exist? The prisoners in Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" are blind from true reality as well as the people in the movie The Matrix. They are given false images and they accept what their senses are telling them. They believe what they are experiencing is not all that really exists. Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher wrote "The Allegory of the Cave," to explain the process of enlightenment and what true reality may be. In the movie The Matrix, Neo (the main character) was born into a world of illusions called the Matrix.

In 1999, Larry and Andy Wachowski directed The Matrix, a movie featuring the future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality or cyberspace called "the Matrix”. This fake reality was created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population. To some, this movie represents just another brilliant Hollywood sci-fi action film, but for others, it challenges the understanding of perspective, reality and appearance ("The matrix 101," 2003). The Matrix heavily relies on the concepts of Irish Philosopher George Berkeley who believed reality, or reality as humans perceive it, is fundamentally mental and therefore immaterial which is known as Idealism.

Having read the synopsis from The Matrix, the excerpt from Plato, The Republic, Book VII, 514A1-518D8 “The Allegory Of The Cave”, and the excerpt from Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, 1641 “Meditation I Of The Things Of Which We May Doubt”, I am able to conclude that there are similarities as well as differences among these readings. Each question the state of reality in which we live. Is our reality a true state of reality or is it a state of mind we have allowed ourselves to exist in?

What is reality? What is known? These questions are constantly being reviewed keeping people anxiously waiting for the real answer. The Matrix is a popular movie dealing with many philosophical ideas from, Gods, Beauty, Reality, and existence. The Matrix deals with an intelligent “computer hacker,” Neo, who questions many things such as reality as he lives two different lives day vs. night. With that being said, Neo starts to ponder how does he know what is real, true, or all knowing. As humans we face this challenge everyday, how do we actually “know?” We know because of our senses, evidence, observations, assumption, and Epistemology.

In the movie, Neo takes a huge risk by saving Morpheus. After Neo saves Trinity from falling down the building and faces Morpheus, he mentions what the Oracle says “Sorry kiddo. You got the gift, but it looks like you are waiting for something. Your next life maybe, who knows? That's the way these things go.”(Matrix). The Oracle tells Neo that he is not the one. When Neo tries to mention what the Oracle said, Morpheus quickly interrupts him and says, “She told you exactly what you needed to hear, that's all. Neo, sooner or later you're going to realize, just as I did, there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”(Matrix). Neo does not believe he is the one but Morpheus reminds Neo what he is capable of by praising him

What is real and what do we really know? These are common questions that everyone asks sometime in their lives. These questions date back since man was made. Nobody knows 100% what happens to us when we die, or what our purpose is in life. Humans have a natural instinct to raise questions to material that we are uncertain of. The movie The Matrix, Descartes First Meditation, and Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave all raise different aspects to questions such as do I exist, what is reality, and how do I know?

The Matrix and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave both connect on the equal abstract question, “what is real?” The two have more similarities than differences. In The Matrix, the main protagonist, Neo, is locked in a fake reality created by a computer program. The program was built by machines that took over the planet. While in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, a detainee is able to comprehend the reality of the cave and the real one outside the cave.

“ The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” ~ Stephen Hawking. The message that Stephen Hawking is trying to portray in this quote is that of, it is not the people that are in fact ignorant who are a threat to what we know, they in fact are still open minded to learning new things and new possibilities. The people that we should be most afraid of are those who think they know it all or who think they have all the answers. Those who have mindsets like this are more prone to being closed off to learning about different possibilities and points of view. This greatly ties in with the thought of: whether living is reality or living in pure ignorance is the best option. While living

Plato once said that, “Ignorance [is] the root and stem of all evil”. Ignorance is the cause of everything that is wrong and bad in the world since people are unable to see the truth. If people start breaking free from ignorance, mankind will become happier and more transparent. In the short story, “Allegory of The Cave” by Plato and The Matrix by the Wachowskis, they portray the idea that in order to gain enlightenment, one must break free from ignorance; which opens himself to knowledge; this new truth must then be shared with others for the good of mankind.

How can you tell what is real and what is not? What makes something real or a form a one singular reality? When critically acclaimed movie The Matrix came out on March 31, 1999, I just turned three years old. The movie was directed the Wachowski brothers, who, have directed many movies with the same theme. I had no idea what the government was doing to the common people or how they dictated every inch our lives, while I was just learning how to talk. I didn’t understand the concept of nihilism or government warfare which will affect me in the future. The Matrix is about a man named Neo discovering he’s a prophet that will fight off A.I. from taking over the world. There are three more sequels to this morning but I’m limiting my analysis to

A man named Thomas Anderson, better known by his hacker alias Neo, is contacted by a fellow hacker named Trinity to arrange a meeting with a mysterious man named Morpheus. After a run-in with some mysterious agents, Morpheus offers to show Neo the truth about the world, if that’s what he wants. Upon taking a red pill, Neo wakes up in the real world, a ruined society controlled by A.I. robots using humans as batteries and making them believe they live in 1999 through the use of a virtual construct known as The Matrix, and the agents he encountered were gatekeepers to the real world. Morpheus then explains a prophecy where The One would eventually come along and bring about the destruction of The Matrix, and claims that Neo is The One. After

What is real? A thought in both The Matrix and Allegory of the Cave. The Matrix, written by Lana Wachowski illustrates many questions throughout. The main character, Neo, tries finding Morpheus in need of an answer to his question. What is the Matrix? Considering, Morpheus is the most dangerous man alive, he does all that he can to find him. Neo is approached by Trinity and led to the underworld to meet Morpheus. They soon realize that Neo is “The One” who can defeat the Matrix. Similarly,The Allegory of the Cave,which took place in ancient time, humans were living in an underground den with their necks and legs chained only seeing their shadows in front of them. The people trapped in the den are like the people in the matrix, not knowing

The Allegory of the Cave by Plato illustrates a classic story of ignorance and enlightenment. The ancient text puts forth symbols of self-awareness and higher knowledge to show the different stages of enlightenment needed to see true reality. Men are prisoners in a cave and have never seen the light of day. They only see the wall of the cave and the shadows cast onto it. One of the men becomes free and leaves the cave to experience the outside world. At first, the man does not understand this new world because for his whole life the cave wall had been his reality. He eventually becomes enlightened when he is forced to see the sun, which is a symbol of enlightenment. Similar tropes are later used to tell a story that questions reality in the movie, The Matrix. In The Matrix, The main character, Neo, discovers that the world he thought was real was nothing more than a computer simulation. Neo is pulled from this false reality and shown the true world. Neo must overcome his disbelief and learn to accept the new reality laid out before him. The man in The Allegory must also learn to accept a truer reality. The Matrix and The Allegory of the Cave share many similarities in their plot, symbols, and characters, but also have several differences.