The Matrix Between Descartes and Plato Questions and Answers

Question 1: compare and contrast the matrix with the readings from Plato and Descartes. What are some similarities and differences?

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.

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.

Question 2: can we prove whether the world we are experiencing is real? How can we know we are not dreaming, living in a platonic cave, or trapped in some soft matrix?

In the modern world today, it is hard to perceive and judge out that whether it is a real world. This question acts on a dilemma situation but can be tackled well if one raises an issue on viewing the question on two perspectives. The two aspects are the human flesh view and the spiritual or the Biblical view. From the human flesh view, it is tough too and not testable to prove whether life is real or a complete imaginative situation. This is depicted out since the body can only use its eyes to see what it sees and tend to have it as real, and when the flesh has not seen something, it tends to rely on hearsay. The flesh hearsay does not make on to have faith in what he or she hears and turns to be unreal. For example on the question whether monsters exist or not, this makes people remain in the world of unreality as the monsters being mentioned appears to be unreal.

Again how do we know whether we are dreaming or not? This issue creates pressure on looking at it, but the fact remains that at some point we are not in a dreaming world basing the evidence that we still fall asleep and wake up. A dream or dreams are imaginary and unconscious events or activities seen in the mind while one is sleeping since we sleep and wake up every day. Therefore, we cannot be living a world of dreams (Grau, 2011). And again these dreams at some point do contradict each other, hence leaving one in a situation of believing and at some point not believing. Therefore we basically can neither be living a dream life or a platonic cage as it from all viewing points it sounds fake and full of unreality.

Secondly, if we can view that the world we are living is real by basing our arguments on the biblical view, then life and all experiences we are living will sound undoubtful and hence real. The biblical expertise is undisputed since God is a supernatural creature who is believed to have brought the world into existence and experience. From the first book of the bible that is, Genesis God is seen to make the world that we are told that was without form. He walked on waters by the guide of the spirits. It is precisely written and believed that God used word of mouth, 'let there be sun' and it came to be. 'let there be rivers and large water bodies', and it came to be' therefore we all believe that it is God with whom we do not know, that he is the one who created the world and all that is in it. Well about the biblical view, how do we know we are neither dreaming nor living in a world of a cave? The answer to this question is depicted from the bible in that, the supernatural creature who is God does not say anywhere in the Scripture that we are dreaming, again God does not say we are living in a cave. In the Bible, God introduces Satan as one who lives in the cave, but again he does not link us to satanic deeds.

Therefore, the world we are living is an interpretation of itself from the Bible as it all mentions the deeds of God. Human beings center their faith in the bible as they believe in the text God reveals himself to human beings. But again the Bible disputes itself. In the Old Testament chapters, it is shown that God appeared to man in a dream, and this raises a question, should we be living a dream? For example, God appeared to the likes of Joseph in a dream, therefore can we say that other dreams sound to be true? Yes, they seem. But turning back to what God himself says, we know that God does not us living in a cave or figured in a matrix.

As discussed and argued above, it is seen that life and human living depends on eye view and full of doubts. From the Old Testament, as noted above, God illustrates Satan as an evil spirit however he does not demonstrate the evil deeds of this Satan. Historically, the Bible is perceived to be a book that is not disputed quickly because of its Holiness. Thus, Christians relied on the Bible to separate truth from false. Therefore, the bible sounds to be undisputed and cannot be doubted .therefore; it is clear that to some point we are not either living in a world of dreaming nor living in a world of platonic or trapped in a matrix.

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.