The Matrix Between Descartes and Plato - Compare and Contrast Essay Sample

Introduction

In their two readings, the two scholars make people believe what is not right and an inaccurate act or believing in a complete lie about what the individual knew as true in the first place. The two individuals' ideas are related in one way or the other but also they have differences, below are some of the similarities between Plato and Rene Descartes about their view in the matrix.

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The two philosophers, Plato and Descartes,' in their readings on the Matrix, they have tried to figure out the truth on meditation. Both of them seeks to create what real reality is as related to the truth about life. According to them, there exist some false ideas in meditation and dreams that need to be figured out.

In the three excerpts, they all raise an issue on believing whether an individual can be able to sustain the truth when he or she has finally known it (Plato, 2004). In writing on the matrix, the character Morpheus tells another character Neo that the past life he had been taking as true and real, he has now come up to realize that it was the life full of fantasy and imagination, he bases his argument from a computer experiment done by one of the scientists. To him, he concludes that reality is just an imaginative life that is showed out by a computer that aids the mind of an individual.

In the Matrix, Neo is perceived to accept lies and believe in what is shown to be falsehood information. He equally argues that he will consider in lies as long as they make sense and seem to be familiar with him and the society. Finally, this man was seen to start believing and accepting the upcoming reality by imparting knowledge of what he earlier knew to be true, for example on the issue of the shadow and reflections and he tries to create the laws and principles that the object sun he knew as not being original, as now original.

There is a significant connection between senses and reality in the two reading (Descartes & William, 2007). Descartes on the first philosophy and Plato's Republic have more in common readings that are noted very easily. They both take the world that it is not a reality but imagination and illusion. They also question the link between our senses and the world of reality. The most apparent relationship between Descartes and Plato's work is that they both doubt the reality in our society and always questioning the reliability of our senses, for example, he uses a dream and asks one 'guy whether he had ever heard a dream that was so life-like that when he woke up he was not sure at the first place if the dream had ended'. One of the characters he uses is one Anderson whose work is computer programming in a software corporation. Anderson takes life as not being real with what he knows and believes in.

Similarly, the relationship between the matrix and Descartes is the brain in a vat. In this vat, the wires are made in a way that they are linked with the brain and given control by the external computer programmer power. In this case, everything the brain does such as thoughts, impulse responses and all the activities the brain can undertake, all these are controlled by the external linked power command (Descartes & Cress, 2006). A difference comes when Neo's words are being given control by the computer while the idea of Descartes lies on the demonic evils. Descartes idea on the demonic evil draws peoples' attention to have the belief that the matrix itself was created basing the ideas of Descartes.

Also, there lies a link between Plato's cave allegory and the matrix as they both make a clear reference to unreality regarding the working of the senses in the body (Downing, 2011). To them, they are trying to get themselves out of the senses thinking that they will gain clear and genuine ideas. This comes from the idea of the global skeptic under the systematic doubt. Cleary one can picture out that the prisoner in the allegory of the cave and Neo in the matrix, both can escape from the leading forces which have been leading them since they were born. Neo starts to create a different perception towards things in life when he came to know that life was full of unreality. In the allegory of caves, true reality is pictured out clearly.

Both Plato and Descartes ask similar questions, but what creates a difference is the way of tackling these questions. The movie on the matrix shows a society that has been taken over by the computers, out of the computer life they try to create reality. Both Plato and Descartes' situations there is no way to come out of the false idea of perceiving things they all say nothing in this world is true or real.

Conclusion

In conclusion to Plato and Descartes' ideas, it is pictured out that they all impose their knowledge of view that the world is not a reality but an imaginative aspect. They have turned to this conclusion by using several experimental tasks, for example, that of linking a computer to the human brain Plato and Descartes, despite them basing ideas on whether the life we are living is real or not real, they at some point have differences on their views.

References

Descartes, R., Ariew, R., & Cress, D. A. (2006). Meditations, objections, and replies. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub.

Descartes, R., In Cottingham, J., & Williams, B. (2017). Meditations on first philosophy: With selections from the Objections and replies.

Downing, J. (2011). Meditation. Colorado Springs: NavPress.

Grau, C. (2011). Philosophers explore The Matrix. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kelly, W. L., & Tallon, A. (2011). Readings in the philosophy of man. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Plato, Ferrari, G. R., & Griffith, T. (2004). The republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.