Interpreting The Matrix through Descartes’s Philosophy Essay

Many ancient philosophers, including Plato, explored metaphysics in relation to reality before Descartes’s in-depth questioning of the subject. However, Descartes’s views on mind/body dualism differ greatly from Plato’s. As Marleen Rozemond (author of Descartess Dualism) points out, Plato believes that the body is simply a vessel for the soul to use, while Descartes provides proof that the body and soul are interconnected (172). One does not simply use the other; though they are separate, the mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. Cartesian dualism tells us that although the whole mind seems to be united to the whole body, I recognize that if a foot or arm or any other part of the body is cut off, nothing has thereby been†¦show more content†¦Descartes states that: Once the foundations of a building are undermined, anything built on them collapses of its own accord; so I will go straight for the basic principles on which all my former beliefs rested. Whatever I have up till now accepted as most true I have acquired either from the senses or through the senses. But from time to time I have found that the senses deceive, and it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once. (384) Through questioning the knowledge he had always believed to be true, Descartes comes to realize that many of his basic beliefs were founded on sensual knowledge. This leads him to question his very existence, and eventually to search for unconditional proof of his existence Christopher Falzon, philosophy lecturer and author of Philosophy Goes to the Movies and Philosophy and The Matrix, points out that The Matrix employs Cartesian-style skepticism in its attempt to inundate the viewer in this cyber-world (â€Å"Philosophy and the Matrix† 99). This is seen in Neo’s choice between the red pill and blue pill in The Matrix, which can be likened to Descartes’s employment of the acid test. Neo, a computer hacker, is told that a man named Morpheus can tell him the meaning of ‘the Matrix,’ a term that Neo has encountered several times. Upon meeting Morpheus, Neo is given a choice: he can take a blue pill which will make him forget about his quest to discover the meaning of ‘the Matrix,’ or he can