The Philosopher- Final evaluation assignment Jun, 2014 | Page 14

The Wachowski Brothers bring action, sci-fi and philosophy together in one thrilling, non-stop, action-packed movie, The Matrix. Amongst the gun-fights, flying martial arts moves and slow motion explosions, the movie raises some thought provoking notions. The film manages to touch on fate, free will, truth, and reality in a mere two and a half hours.

Viewers follow the main character “Neo”, computer programmer by day, hacker by night, on his search for an ultimate truth, known only to himself and a select few others as “The Matrix”, but this truth is much more than he bargained for. It is clear from the start that Neo struggles with the concept of reality and his perception of it, stating at times that he just doesn’t feel like what he’s experiencing is real. This becomes apparent after his first encounter with the “agents” as he wakes up in his bed, believing it all to be a bad dream since it did not have an ideal turn out. When he learns exactly what the Matrix is, his entire perception of reality changes, as he learns that humans are essentially nothing but brains in jars being fed stimuli that they believe are real. The entire concept is a parallel to the basic concept of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, in which humans are trapped in a cave, and all they ever knew to be real was shows being projected on a wall in front of then. Both are only aware of what they are being allowed to know, and nothing beyond it until they are set free. The biggest difference is that one is represented by shadows on a wall, and the other, by a computer program.

The acceptance of such a mind-blowing realization is where the notion of free will comes into play. Neo, now understanding that the thing he once thought was reality was in fact not real, is taught that he is in complete control of himself and the things around him while in the Matrix, essentially giving him complete free will. As one who never believed in

fate since he “didn’t like the idea of not being in control of his own life”, this was more of a confirmation of his beliefs prior to having learned the truth. This concept of fate versus free will is explored deeper when Neo is faced with a decision prophesized to him by the famous oracle, to which, he defies both options and creates his own.

The movie also touches on the concepts of rationalism, empiricism and skepticism, as both of the formers are questioned in the form of the latter.

PHilisophy and film:

The Matrix