Plato's Descartes and the Matrix

PLATO’S DESCARTES, AND THE MATRIX ANALYSIS

Liberty University Online

PHIL 201- B03 LUO

By

Desmond W. Akenteng

Instructor’s name: Prof. Kevin Smith

Date: February 12, 2015

Introduction:

            In this assignment, I will seek to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between Plato’s Descartes: “The Allegory Of The Cave” and “The Matrix” and prove that the world we are experiencing is real, and also prove that it is absolutely good to escape the cave and experience the reality is the best idea.

            After reading “The Allegory of the Cave” and Synopsis: “The Matrix” I could see that both stories have similarities and differences. The similarities in both stories are that, in the Matrix, Neo who is the main character was trapped in a false world powered and programmed by a computer, which everything he sees around him was real to him. Whereas in “The Allegory of The Cave” a prisoner was kept in a cave controlled by his keepers, thinking that everything he sees was real. In both stories, the characters were been controlled by a high power. Other similarities is that, in the Matrix, Neo came to a realization that all the things and the life he taught he was leading was in fact an illusion programmed under the guidance of the Matrix, supervised by an agents. The prisoner in “The Allegory of The cave” also came to realize that all the shadows he was looking at first were actually false they were just shadows appearing on the walls by agents holding objects against the fire.

              The characters in both stories were completely uncertain about what was going on around them and lived in the world of ignorance. They both also shared the opportunity of leaning new thing and acquiring new knowledge.

               There were also some differences in both stories but not as much as similarities. Even though both characters were imprisoned, but Neo in “The Matrix” imprisonment, was orchestrated by a computer programming while the prisoner in “The Allegory of the Cave” was kept in an underground cave. And also in “The Matrix” Neo refused to accept the truth about the real world and even had a huge shock and it took him a while before accepting the truth in sadness. In “The Allegory of the cave” the prisoner counted himself happy after knowing the truth in the change and pity his fellow-bondsmen.

            I believe we can prove that the world we are experiencing is real in the way of how we are able to apply all the five sense but it is not our permanent home; because we would one day live this world and go to our permanent home. According to Hebrews 13:14 “…we are looking forward to a new world and a new home”

          I believe with Socrates that men should escape the cave and see reality as it really is; because reality allows us to reason and that is one way we gain knowledge according to some philosophers (Dew & Foreman; 2014 pg; 31) the world has become what it is today because of knowledge of reasoning not ignorance. Socrates once said, “Unexamined life is not worth living” (Mark W. Foreman. 2014, pg’19) human beings were created to make life worth living by reflecting on values of live as we use reason of knowledge rather than insanity.