Tredyffrin/Easttown School District



MATRIX QUESTIONS

PHILOSOPHERS AND THE MATRIX

“I know why you are here Neo…It is the question that drive’s us Neo.”

Trinity

1.  How does this quote relate to philosophy and our own existence and our short unit on identity? Hint: Remember Socrates most famous quote. . .

"SEVERAL years have now elapsed since I first became aware that I had accepted, even from my youth, many false opinions for true, and that consequently what I afterward based on such principles was highly doubtful; and from that time I was convinced of the necessity of undertaking once in my life to rid myself of all the opinions I had adopted, and of commencing anew the work of building from the foundation, if I desired to establish a firm and abiding superstructure in the sciences. But as this enterprise appeared to me to be one of great magnitude, I waited until I had attained an age so mature as to leave me no hope that at any stage of life more advanced I should be better able to execute my design… since I have opportunely freed my mind from all cares [and am happily disturbed by no passions], and since I am in the secure possession of leisure in a peaceable retirement, I will at length apply myself earnestly and freely to the general overthrow of all my former opinions."- Rene Descartes, Meditations

2. Given the above quote and the specific Cartesian principle that it demonstrates, what would Rene Descartes say about the matrix?  What are the fundamental problems?  Where should our inquiry begin?  How?

Scenes- Red Pill Blue Pill through Neo’s Return From the Matrix

When Neo returns from his journey into the Matrix, Morpheus says “welcome to the real world.”  

3. Which classical philosophers have we dealt with that argued over singular and duel realities.  Explain their differences. 

“Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real.  What if you were unable to wake from that dream.  How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world.” Morpheus to Neo

4.  Compare the quote to the major ideas presented by Rene Descartes.  How does the philosophy of Rene Descartes relate to what we have seen in the Matrix?

5.  What would Heidegger say about the state of mankind as we have viewed it in The Matrix?  What are the greatest over exaggerations in our relationship to that "future state of being".  What are some potential frightening consequences of our relationship with technology? (Please do not answer by saying that we will all be in pods controlled by robots.)  

PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS RAISE IN

THE MATRIX

“We’ve had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Anderson.  It seams that you’ve been living two lives.”

6. How many lives do we live?  How many “people” are we?  Do we live in different realties or a collective?  Hint: Think the discussion from Harold's Crayon and The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat

“You’re here because you know something.  What you know you can’t explain but you feel it.”

7.  If you can’t explain something then do you really know it?

8. Can you know something without experiencing it?  Fully explain your answer.

"All I am offering you is the truth."- Neo to Morpheus

8. a.  Given our conversations in our Theory of Knowledge Unit and Metaphysics Unit, what is truth?

9. While waiting to be sent into the Matrix Neo looks at the mirror.  What might be the meaning of this scene?

10.  Scene:  Neo is programmed and then fights Morpheus.  Is knowledge power?  How is this addressed in the Matrix?  Is it true in our world?

11.   Scene: The agent meets with Cypher.  Is ignorance bliss? What would you choose and why?  What would be the implications of your choice? 

PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS

“That thing is real!”

Neo after getting “de-bugged”

“How do you define real?  If you are talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste, and see then real is simply electrical symbols interpreted in your brain?” - Morpheus to Neo

12. After viewing the first segment answer: Was the bug “real?”  Explain your answer.  What would a materialist say?  What would an idealist say?

13. If you were Thomas Hobbes, how would you see the existence of the matrix?  Does it exist or not?  Would an idealist agree with you or not?

“Do you believe in fate”- Morpheus to Neo

“No. . .because I don’t like the idea that I am not in control of my life.”- Neo to Morpheus

14. What are the constraints in our own lives that mirror the constraints in the Matrix?

You are a slave Neo.  Like everyone else you were born into bondage.  Born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch.  A prison for your mind.- Morpheus to Neo

15. What division within the Theory of Knowledge does the quote above represent?  The belief that our knowledge and experience comes from the mind.

"Unfortunately no one can be told what the Matrix is.  You have to see it for yourself." –Morpheus to Neo

16. Read the quote below. What division within the Theory of Knowledge does the quote below represent.  The idea that knowledge comes from sensory experience?

Scene: Humans are grown.  

17. How does the Matrix relate to the brain in a vat?  How does it differ?

18. How is the matrix similar and different to Nozick's "Experience Machine"?  

Morpheus: I've seen an Agent punch through a concrete wall; men have emptied entire clips at them and hit nothing but air. Yet their strength and their speed are still based on a world that is built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.

Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?

Morpheus: No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.

19.  What is it to be “free”? By referring to the script above and other scenes in the movie answer: Does Neo have free will?  How does he gain or loose free will and how is it represented in the movie? What roles do fate, free-will, and determinism play in The Matrix?  Hint: think oracle

20.  How much can we know?  Can the mind live forever?  (Are the mind and the brain the same thing?)  How does the mind/body problem and its theories relate to The Matrix?

            The Ethical Dilemmas of Neo's Worlds

21. Which ethical Principles of Obligation apply to Cypher''s choice to be reinserted into the matrix?  Explain how and why each principle is used or not used.

22. Which ethical Principles of Obligation apply to Neo's decision to rescue Morpheus?  Explain how and why each principle is used or not used.

23. Where do we see the philosophies of Nietzsche and Rand in the matrix?  How are they at work throughout the film?

24. Choose two moral dilemmas (excluding) Neo's decision to rescue Morpheus and Cypher's attempt to be reinserted in the matrix?  How would Kant approach this theory?

25. In light of Bentham's philosophy, analyze the choices made by the Oracle to tell/ or not to tell Neo clear information about his role, his present, and future.

IN THE END. . .

Answer the questions below.

“You look like of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up.  Ironically this is not far from the truth” Morpheus to Neo

26. What does Morpheus mean in the quote above?

27. How does the matrix relate to our own world?

28. Choose three major decisions made by characters in The Matrix.  Analyze each of the decisions with the ethical theorists (Kant, Nietzche, and Bentham) and the ethical principles learned in class.  After evaluating the decisions, would you have made the same decision if you were each character?

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