Essay on The Six Branches of Philosophy

Last night, I watched ‘The Matrix’ for the first time and that movie plays a perfectly role in the question, “what it is to be human.” Think about a world that is unreal, how would we even know if the world we live in is unreal? What if we are all in a virtual world that makes our brain think we are actually doing something? As of right now, I am typing a paper for my English 212 class at Saginaw Valley State University; in the Matrix this is what you should be thinking. If you see it, smell it, and feel it; it must be real. However, not according to the Matrix; how deep does the rabbit hole go?

People seem to think that everything that happens to them everyday is real. The question is, though, “What is real?”. Is everything you see everyday really real or is it fake? We might see fantasies that other people or machines have created for us. Maybe we are the ones that are not enlightened yet. Numerous essays and films have been produced on this subject. One essay is “The Allegory of the Cave” written by Plato in 360 B.C. Also, the movie The Matrix was filmed in 1999. Even though many differences can be drawn between “The Allegory of the Cave” and The Matrix, there are many similarities as well.

but if it's for the common good then it is just. Aquinas states it is

The way the world is seen varies with each passing person. What is observed as good from one may be the damning pathway to hell for another. Many times these beliefs are instilled upon us at a very early age which can result with a twisted outlook on life that we had little to no control over. As we grow older we are than further influenced through our religion (or lack of), culture, and passed experiences. With that in mind, it is easy to see that reality can be just as interchangeable and further raises the difficult question of what is real? Robert Neville, a man who on a daily basis struggles with the reality of being the last man on earth often only manages to keep going by holding on to the intangibles of hope, denial, and

There is physics and consciousness and trying to explain the world in categories is not the correct way however there is stuff in there which makes it real.

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?

A person could also argue that no one acts unjustly because they want to but because they are put into a difficult situation where it is easier to do the unjust thing. For instance, the just thing to do while taking a test is to not cheat. In order to avoid a situation where you would have to consider cheating, you would have to spend some time prior to the exam studying to be sure that you understand the topics well so that when you go in to take the exam you can feel well prepared and confident in yourself. The feeling of satisfaction or joy that one gets after receiving a good grade is better than the feeling you would get knowing that you cheated and didn't earn the grade fairly because you would know that the effort you put in paid off in the long run. Another example would be helping out someone who is being bullied.

Reality is often contrasted with what is imaginary, delusional, (only) in the mind, dreams, what is false, what is

Everything has a price. Which is okay as long as the price is worth the results. In the past terrible things have happened under men claiming, “The ends justify the means.” Then history repeats itself and another horror occurs with the same tale from those responsible. A question, naturally, is asked in these scenarios. Do the ends justify the means? Eric Sevareid and Charles Percy Snow lived through both World Wars and have seen a lot of scientific progress change mankind. Sevareid looks at the world in a pessimistic manner, but Snow would disagree. While both agree there can be a cost to progress, Snow believes in the future of man, while Sevareid only sees darkness.

According to the accumulated definitions from the movies “Inception” and “The Matrix”, and Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, reality is only what the user perceives as true. This notion of reality is the one our stories tell of, the “true reality” that protagonists search for. That is to say there are multiple forms of reality (and the subforms they take, especially

any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one’s own benefit

1 Right actions are those that result in the most beneficial balance of good over bad consequences.

“Does the good end justify the means?” is a difficult question to answer for me and the answer might depend on situations. I think that in most of the situations, I might end up stuck between “yes” and “no” and usually I’ve been flipping a coin whenever I’m stuck in a

Silently, my senses begin to abandon their rationale…who is to say then what is real? The world that we live in, the reality, which we are a part of, is small and thus limited. That is why, in his infinite capacity for potential improvement, man created fantasy. Fantasy is BIG! To a certain extent it is more imaginative, more exciting, and more fun. Fantasy is like a lake where man throws all his ideas and dreams, and then he dives on in from the springboard of imagination. So, jump in to the lake. Why not? Just make sure that when you jump in to the lake you know how to get back from where you came from. Because, no matter how big a fantasy is, to the point that it somehow changes our perception of what is

*Never treat people simply as means to an end but always at the same time as ends in themselves