The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

~ (Editor) "Many people recognize The Matrix as a retelling of "the greatest story ever told..." (more)
Key Phrases: cafeteria pluralism, consensus genres, malicious demon, Agent Smith, New York, Tasty Wheat (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The many faces of Keanu Reeves as hero Neo-Christ, Buddha, Socrates-are explored in these essays on the philosophical implications of the sci-fi martial arts blockbuster The Matrix, collected by the editor of Seinfeld and Philosophy and The Simpsons and Philosophy. According to the academics assembled here, when messianic hacker Neo kick-boxes the Matrix's virtual-reality dream-prison, he is really struggling with some of mankind's biggest conundrums: the nature of truth and reality, the possibility of free will, the mind-body problem and the alienation of labor in late-capitalist society. The tacit goal here is to make philosophy fun for the general reader by orienting it to pop-culture reference points, so while some articles contain rather dense philosophical jargon, most are pitched at the level of a freshman intro course. But only a few chapters delve into the movie's aesthetics; the rest seem to use The Matrix as a peg on which to hang a canned philosophy lecture. The results are occasionally engaging, as with David Mitsuo Nixon's nifty refutation of the "reality is just an illusion" conceit, but they're too often dryly academic and liable to elicit no more than a drowsy "whoa" from the movie's legions of fans.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"This collection of essays has something for nearly everyone interested in the intersection between philosophy and pop culture." -- Utopian Studies Book Review, September, 2004 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Open Court (August 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081269502X
• ISBN-13: 978-0812695021
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #150,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Intro. to Philosophy Courses, November 22, 2002

By	Kevin J. Murtagh Jr. "Philosophy teacher and ... (Rockville Centre, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I use this book in the Introduction to Philosophy course that I teach. This book provides me with an "in" that I can use in order to discuss very important philosophical issues. It is often difficult to make the material "come to life", especially when teaching a required course. By using this book, it is possible to make the process much more enjoyable for students who would otherwise be disinterested. This book can be used on its own or, being that it is relatively inexpensive, it can be used as a companion piece along with a textbook. For the most part, the writing is lively and engaging. It is both accessible to Intro. students and interesting to graduate students. Anyone who has had an even cursory acquaintance with philosophical writing knows how rare that is. I believe this to be the best book in the series. I am most likely biased; I have what some might call an unhealthy obsession with the film. The other two books, Seinfeld and Philosophy and Simpsons and Philosophy, are excellent, but this book is much better for use in an intro. course for on simple reason: To understand most of the essays in the other two books, the reader will have to be familiar with the series. Seeing a few episodes will not do. With The Matrix, you can watch a two hour movie and be able to understand the references that are made in the book. A few highlights:
Ch.1: Computers, Caves, and Oracles: Neo and Socrates- Compares Plato's allegory of the cave to Neo's journey. An excellent discussion of what it means to lead an examined life and seek the truth. Excellent segue into the red pill/blue pill debate.
Ch.6: The Machine-Made Ghost: Or, The Philosophy of Mind, Matrix Style- Discusses Artificial Intelligence and the nature of the mind. The author argues against dualism and favors a materialistic view. Leads to a discussion on whether or not it would be theoretically possible for a Matrix to exist and the presuppositions that are present in the movie with regard to the nature of the mind.
Ch.8: Fate, Freedom, and Foreknowledge: A discussion of fate, freedom, omniscience and determinism. Even if they escaped the Matrix, would people really be free?
Ch.11: Happiness and Cypher's Choice: Is Ignorance Bliss?- My favorite essay in the book. What do we make of Cypher's decision to try to return to the Matrix? Is a decimated reality preferable to an artificial world where you can "eat" a juicy steak and do not have to worry about Sentinels trying to kill you? The author says that it is, and his argument is very thought-provoking.
There are other excellent essays in this book, but these happen to be my favorites. Students, teachers and those who are just interested in philosophy: You should definitely buy this excellent book.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid collection of essays on The Matrix and philosophy, September 19, 2002

By	cloudnin (Nebraska, USA) - See all my reviews

This book contains 20 essays by 20 philosophers covering various parts of the film The Matrix and how they relate to philosophy. The 20 essays are divided into 5 categories. The first group of essays deal with the possibility of the Matrix or some other deceitful reality, the second section includes essays covering implications of The Matrix, the third covers how The Matrix relates to religion and ethics, the fourth section includes the essays covering philosophical themes of The Matrix, and the final section includes essays in which the film is analyzed from different perspectives, including feminism, Marxism, and postmodernism.

While almost all of the essays are good, my two favorite essays were #8: "Fate, Freedom, and Foreknowledge" by Theodore Shick, Jr. and #19: "The Matrix Simulation and the Postmodern Age" by David Weberman. Both were interesting and thought-provoking.

At least two of the essays, though, contain serious flaws. Essay #7: "Neo-Materialism and the Death of the Subject" by Daniel Barwick is seriously flawed in its critique of reductive materialism. The author quotes a passage from Michael Tye noting the difference between experiencing different colors and merely learning what it's like to experience different colors. This passage and the subsequent discussion of it are relevant neither to reductive materialism or to The Matrix. A more relevant situation would be one in which 2 people perceive what they think is a real tree, but only one of them is actually perceiving a real tree while the other is only receiving computer generated electrical signals that give the false perception of a tree, as what differentiates one's perceptions in reality and The Matrix is not the perceptions themselves, but rather the source of those perceptions. Essay #10: "The Religion of The Matrix and the Problems of Pluralism" by Gregory Bassham describes the references to religion in The Matrix, and finds the film to be supportive of religious pluralism. While the film does indeed borrow plot and character archetypes from religion, that does not make the film religious or supportive of a view towards religion, such as pluralism or exclusivism. The Wachowskis commented in an interview that the film was about "Faith in oneself," which is a non-theist position.

It was somewhat annoying how nearly every one of the essayists repeat how The Matrix is similar to Plato's "The Cave" allegory and how The Matrix is similar to Descartes' malicious demon thought-experiment. Also, in almost every essay the dialogue from the scene in which Cypher is eating the steak while making the deal with Agent Smith is quoted and analyzed. Instead, perhaps, the first 3 essays could have been devoted to 1 of the 3 things exclusively (The first essay is devoted primarily to the "The Cave" allegory) so they wouldn't have had to be repeated in almost every essay.

Also, I was a bit disappointed that none of the essayists noted the more likely, but not nearly as interesting scenario that should, but probably won't, be revealed in the final 3 minutes of the 3rd film: The year is actually 2399, not 2199, and none of the thought to be real events, places, or even people (which no longer exist) are indeed real, and instead everything took place as part of a computer simulation onboard one of the A.I. machines, of what might have happened if the A.I. machines had used human energy to continue their existence on Earth, instead of solar energy that the A.I. machines really use to continue their existence in outer-space, as it floats benignly through space.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this book. If you liked the film and are interested in philosophy then I think you'll find this book enjoyable and thought-provoking. If you didn't like The Matrix and are not interested in philosophy or have studied philosophy extensively, then this book probably isn't for you.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good starting point into the Desert of the Real, December 30, 2002

By	Blake Petit "Novelist, Comixtreme.com columni... (Ama, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

You know, I never took a single philosophy course in college, and this book still swept me right up. The thinking man has already pondered many of the issues this book brings up, but it examines them in a more analytical way that helps to focus your thinking.

The book is essentially a collection of essays connecting "The Matrix" (and occasionally other films) to the modern school of thinking. As such, it could have used some editing -- the analogy to Descarte's demon allegory is certainly pertinent, but we don't need it explained to us 18 times.

The essays generally fall into two categories -- those which use "The Matrix" as a starting point for serious philosophical debate and those which attempt to apply schools of thought that the filmmakers almost certainly never intended (virtually the entire final segment of the book is like this). The former work very well, the latter do not.

For fans of "The Matrix" who want to examine it as more than just a film but as a question that doesn't really have an answer, this is a great place to start.