Product Description

Is the world around us truly as it appears or are we inert bodies in tanks, our brains subjected to electronic stimulation creating a make-believe world of hallucination? The Keanu Reeves cult sci-fi movie, The Matrix, vividly conveyed the excitement and the horror of a fake world made of nothing but perceptions, substituting for a real world of grim despair. Since The Matrix is probably the most overtly philosophical movie ever to have come out of Hollywood it has popularised issues on which philosophers have a lot to say. The Matrix and Philosophy is from the same team of cool, capable, young philosophers who created The Simpsons and Philosophy, which redefined the market for a work by serious philosophers. It has 20 new, thoughtful essays on philosophical problems raised by The Matrix, many of which focus on the issues "Can we be sure the world is really there, and if not, what should we do about it?" The book also explores other philosophical puzzles including ethical ones like Cypher's decision to choose a pleasurable fake world over a wretched real one.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101701 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Understanding the movie/Understanding reality
This collection of philosophical essays is a painless introduction to philosophy. Reading it won't necessariy help you ace Philosophy 101 exams, but careful reading will help you see the important points of the movie along with helping you understand basic philosophical concepts.

Relating basic philosophical concepts to a popular and enjoyable movie is bound to improve your mind. But don't let that scare you. You'll end up enjoying it immensely.

Trust me.

The Matrix and Philosophy
This book looks at 'The Matrix' and philosophical questions in relation to it. It has a collection of essays by various authors and whilst most of these are very readable and clear, I found at least 3 to be poorly written and so 'Up' themselves that they imparted little worthwhile thoughts or insight. The editors essay was especially good as an introduction to the book and if he had written the rest then this could have been a stronger overall package. The essays were also quite repetitive, using the same quotes to justify their points to the extent that it got tedious reading them again and again. There is only so many 'splinter in your mind' and Cyphers ignorance at being plugged back in to the matrix references you can read in any one book, however much a fan of the film you are. Be aware this only covers the first film and I believe that there is another book in the series looking at the sequels, but based on this one I won't be tracking that down any time soon. For huge fans of the film this may be a good read, but for those interested in philosophical question raised by the matrix, any good introduction to philosophy book will serve just as well. If you'd like to explore the philosophical and scientific ideas behind this film more then I'd suggest 'Taking the Red Pill' by Glenn Yeffeth and David Gerrold as it is clearer and much more engaging. An OK book, but not outstanding.