The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real

When I first picked up the book, I expected to find the usual correlations between the Matrix and Christianity. You know...Neo being Jesus, Morpheus the Holy Spirit, etc. However, this is not what this book contains. The Matrix and Philosophy is a collection of essays and other writings that compare ideas presented in The Matrix with philosophical writings from throughout history. The entire book is centered around one question; is the world presented in The Matrix a possibility? Throughout the book the "Matrix Possibility" is put up against writings of Descartes, Robert Nozick, and many other philosophical writers. I was very impressed with book overall and would recommend this book to almost any fan of the Matrix that has asked themselves "Is it really possible?"

In his essay in this text Slaboj Zizek states "Isn't The Matrix one of those films which functions as a kind of Rorschach task, setting in motion the universalized process of recognition..." No thought could better summarize this collection of essays as philosophers celebrate, critique and deconstruct The Matrix. Comparisons are made to Socrates, Descartes, Kant, Bhuddah, and Marx, some almost certainly intended in the film and other likely projected. The Matrix is a philosophical film and the first time I saw it I heard the voices of Descartes and Kant. It was refreshing to have some rigorous guidance for the way down the rabbit hole and the process of making connections between the movie, classical philosophy and current world views. The text is technical but accessible. The essays are more in the rhetorical style of college lecture halls than dining halls and the reader should be prepared for some rigor - but it is well worth it. There is a lot of repetition between chapters and some essays were definitely more interesting than others (Gregory Bassham's The Religion of The Matrix and the Problems of Pluralism and Theodore Schick's Fate, Freedom, and Foreknowledge, in particular, were winners) but that is the advantage of a modular document - the essays stand alone and you can read from cover to cover or sample. A highly recommended text.

I just finished reading "One Dimentional Man" by Herbert Marcuse. I thought of the "The Matrix" throughout the reading because it seems like a great metaphor for the basic theme of Marcuse's book": Industrial [tecnological] society geared towards creating conformity on a totalitarian scale in supposedly "democratic" societies; the Matrix being an extreme example of this--technology becoming predominent to the point of total dominance. So I rushed back to the "Matrix and Philosophy" index but found no trace of Marcuse. The book contains some readable but complex takes on the film. It would be great to have seen a straight foward reading depicting Neo as a hero of the "Great Refusal" Marcuse's term for the few who are aware of the conformist inflicting powers of late industrial society and who rebel against it. But this is just my personal opinion on an otherwise fine book that I'm still reading in a scater-shot way. Perhaps I missed an essay written by someone who has absorbed Marcuse but who felt no need to reference him. Someone in "Time" magazine [who did a huge image-laden but ultimately superficial article on "Reloaded"] poked fun at the "Geeks" who would read this type of book which is exactly what infururiated Marcuse back in '64. He saw even then how the powers-that-be exhort anti-intellectualism as a way of keeping people from questioning the system--to keep people from asking questions like "What is the Matrix?" [Just try critiquing or questioning anything about this society, anywhere except, maybe, in a college classroom, and find out how quickly people refer to you as being "Too negative" or tell you you sound like "Frazier".]One might say that "The Matrix" calls into question Marcuse's theory because it can be seen as a film that questions contemporary society. But Marcuse felt that Beurocracy is so stiffling that most "negative" critisism in any form is deftly marginalized or co-opted [see "Matrix Reloaded" which is basicly a commercial for "GM" and "Poweraid" and, alas, "Matrix III"...]. So Perhaps we live in such a controlled society now that the powers-that-be [dare we call it "Empire"?] know that the majority of work/cell phone/entertainment addled minds won't start a revolution after seeing "The Matrix" or even think past the cool action shots. But some folks are still trying to think and question and this book is a testament to that.

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.

In my opinion the Matrix and Philospohy is the best of the three pop culture and philospohy books published by Irwin so far. While the Simpsons and Seinfeld books both drew philospohical analogies from unexpected yet amusing sources, what makes the Matrix piece different is that it addresses the actual questions movie audiences pondered from experiencing the film. The beauty of this book is in not in the conclusions but rather in the debate itslef. If you enjoyed the movie because Neo "saved the day", then this book isn't for you. But if the wheels in your mind kept churning over whether virtual reality is equal to relaity, then I say take the red pill and see how far this rabbit hole goes. Enjoy!