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Comparing and Contrast the Allegory of the Cave and the Matrix Essay Example

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Comparing and Contrast the Allegory of the Cave and the Matrix Essay Example
Have you ever wondered whether, Plato, if he were alive in the 20 century, would he be a brilliant movie director, with productions that earned more than $400 million? Both Plato’s “Allegory of Cave” and Andy and Lana Wachowski’s movie “The Matrix” explore the abstruse question of perception of truth. What is truth, and how do we determine what is truth? “I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious.” This quote from the Matrix vividly illustrates the truth that how people perceive is the way they think, their realization of the truth is due to the world in which they live. Different people may have different perceptions of knowledge, which leads them to a distinct understanding of truth. It is about personal experience seeking the truth, in the process to knowledge - an image does not accurately reflect reality that is the challenge for both Socrates and Neo, the protagonist in the Matrix.
Considering one day there is a chicken that has lived with ducks since he was born, and never seen other chicken. Will that chicken ever know he is a chicken, or even when he sees other chicken, does he know it is a chicken? The prisoners in the cave have been chained together and have been separated from the outside world since birth. Consequently, their perceptions of objects are based on the shadows of those things, shadows produced by firelight in the cave as true representations. The environment where they have lived creates a world basic on their perception of things. Like Plato mentioned in the story: “To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images. ” The prisoners form their own opinion about things they perceive as true representation. By comparison, people who live in the Matrix accept the buildings and the things around them as the truth. However, the truth they have been accepting is merely their opinion, but no necessarily an opinion formed
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