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Essay Comparing The Cave And The Matrix

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Essay Comparing The Cave And The Matrix
The comparisons between the three stories are that each has a question as to what is real/reality. The Cave by Plato and The Matrix are similar in their story line. The two differ in that Neo was beginning to feel that there was something that was missing in his life, a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. The prisoner in Plato’s story had no question, no reservation as to what his life was to be day in and day out until a different scenario was presented to him. Much like Neo, the prisoner was presented another truth or another world other than what he knew to be the truth. The prisoner and Neo were shown another side to life. The prisoner was allowed to stay in the other reality contrasted with Neo’s need to fight his current reality and be able to choose which one he would live within.
Comparing these two with Descartes “The Things of Which we May Doubt” the likeness lies with the questioning of another reality. Descartes however, is not given an option of another reality. He is questioning if his current surroundings and his senses are truly honest with his being and how we are able to prove what is real and what is not real. According to our lecture by Dr. Foreman, the movie the Matrix is a Hollywood version of Descartes’ “Evil Demon Hypothesis” also known as the Brain in the Vat. …show more content…
The prisoner in Plato’s story remains in the brightness of the sun, not to return to his imprisonment. Neo chooses to rebel against the Matrix and not embrace Cypher’s “ignorance is bliss”. (Wachowski , 1999) Descartes is convinced that he has a grasp of his reality, “I think, therefore I am”. (Morris, 1999, p.63) What gives the skeptic cause for concern in any of these scenarios is that of his experience being a farce or worse yet, does it even matter whether it is real or
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