Customer Reviews

Philosophers Explore The Matrix

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This book is undoubtedly one of the best volumes on the philosophical ideas underlying the three Matrix movies.

The book is what was to be expected from Oxford University Press: high quality. Not only are the articles written by well-known philosophers such as James Pryor, Colin McGinn, Hubert Dreyfus, David Chalmers, Andy Clark, and Kevin Warwick (to name just a few), but they are also of outstanding quality. (Besides, unlike many other books, this book deals with all three Matrix films!)

Every article touches on many delicate philosophical (and sometimes religious) aspects of the three Matrix films, but though the philosophy is deep and sometimes counterintuitive, the authors are able to explain the philosophical intricacies with a minimal use of jargon - thus making this a highly accessible volume for a wide audience.

The book also offers (in the Appendix) a selection from the classic philosophical texts that inspired the makers of the Matrix trilogy.

It is a book that makes you really wonder: what if it all were true...? What if the review you are now reading is not really there? What if... If you read this book, you will never watch The Matrix again in the same way. Highly recommended!

I am a big fan of the Matrix trilogy, and I bought this book on a whim just to see what schooled philosophers had to say about the Matrix. I was really surprised by the quality of the writings in this book. You don't really even need to be a fan of the Matrix to appreciate the thought provoking material contained in this book.

Very few of these books based on popular series have something truly useful and witty to say. This book by OUP is undoubtly one of these. Differently from others, it's not another greedy and shallow explorer of an audience intrigued by the colateral meanings of the trilogy.

The essays are easily read, philosophical thoughts are rendered legible (but not simplified to the point of getting innocuous). It's a very good intro to the most pressing questions of western philosophy, such as knowledge, cognition and even ethics -the very same questions that have been "bothering" men throughout history and have come to a delicate point in post-modern times.

I highly recommend it.