Ma. Laia L. Valencia 2013-03064 What you know you cant explain, but you feel it.

Youve felt it your entire life, that theres something wrong with the world. You dont know what it is, but its there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. Morpheus, The Matrix, 1999 The Matrix is a 1999 movie that featured a computer-generated world wherein every human being believed that this virtual world is what they perceived as reality. It featured a lot of ideas regarding what humans perceived as true reality, and what is just a deception. The Matrix is closely related to Platos Allegory of the Cave, featured in The Republic, and Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy. All these three gave us the idea of doubting whether we are controlled by something else aside from ourselves, and whether or not what we believe as true reality is real. Reality is based mostly on our senses, which gives us the probability that maybe we are just living in a world of deception, and hinders us from knowing the truth. The Allegory of the Cave featured prisoners inside a cave who were chained and believed that whats inside the cave is their true reality. They trusted only their senses, until one of them was freed, found the truth behind the shadows, and found the beauty outside the cave. Neo can be compared to the freed prisoner, who found out that this Matrix, is not whats real. Prisoners who remained chained inside the cave can be compared to the people who are in the Matrix. What they see with their senses, without a hint of doubt, is what they believe is reality. The people inside the matrix only perceive what is fed directly into their brain. Just like the chained prisoners inside the cave, they remain ignorant of what really is real. On the other hand, The Matrix is also comparable to Descartes idea of living a life of deception. He stated that there is no sure way to distinguish between life when awake and life when asleep. He neither accepted nor rejected the idea of whether or not our dreams are just dreams or this whole real life can be just ano ther dream. In The Matrix, Neo believed that everything that he was experiencing through his senses was real. Once he escaped from the Matrix, he found out that the life he had was just a deception. At first, he was hesitant to believe it because it defied his reasons and his senses. The Matrix, which showed that humans were in pods and were just directly given the information they would perceive as reality, shows another idea of Descartes wherein he believed that an evil genius, as cleaver and deceitful as he is powerful, has directed his entire effort to misleading me. When Neo viewed what is true reality, he was very confused because it wasnt what he had known as reality. Same goes to the freed prisoner from the the cave, who slowly learns that what he had known wasnt real. As Neo learned about the Matrix, he then learns that he shouldnt just accept information provided by the senses alone. This knowledge of the Matrix allowed him to decide whether this true reality is real or just another deception. If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things. Rene Descartes