What is Reality?: A thought from Plato and Descartes
Created | Updated Dec 2, 2004
Our knowledge of 'reality' is based solely on sensorial perceptions, thus causing the possibility that our experiences of the world are a deception, preventing us from seeing the truth. Plato explored this idea of sensorial deception in his story of "The Cave" and in the popular movie "The Matrix" which mimicked this story and explored realities deception.
Plato's allegory of "The Cave" describes chained prisoners in a cave who interact with shadows cast by a fire. However, one prisoner frees himself and travels outside the cave where he is blinded by the light and only gradually begins to see the truth. Through this story, Plato uses his 'four levels of understanding' to show how relying on the senses could prevent a person's understanding of the truth or 'real reality'. In the story, the chained prisoners have only achieved the first level of understanding, that of visible 'reality' perceived by the senses, as they believe that the shadows cast on the cave wall are all there is to the world. The prisoners do not question this reality as they rely solely on their experiences and perceptions of the shadows and their chains represent their bondage to this view. However, the freed prisoner attains the higher levels of understanding including the knowledge of the truth behind the visible reality of the shadows, the scientific truth of a larger and different world beyond the cave and the knowledge of the beauty of the sun and outside reality compared to the restricted reality of the cave.
"The Matrix" mimics the allegory of "The Cave", interpreting the story through the setting of a non-physical and illusionary virtual world. In the movie Neo represents the freed prisoner who travels into the real world and gradually learns the truth of reality. The people who remain within the Matrix represent the prisoners of the cave, however, their visible reality understanding is a pure illusion fed directly into the brain rather than a true sensory experience like that of the cave prisoners. This illusion is the cause of the people's bondage to an entirely non-physical world, as they do not question their existance or the existance of others.
The understanding of the true reality is harder than the knowledge of the illusion. Throughout history, the minority who considered an alternate truth were persecuted, as ideas that did not conform challenged the perception of the day. Before the 1st century the Earth was considered to be flat and the centre of the universe, however those who denied this truth were severely punished and persecuted as theories of a circular planet and a heliocentric universe didn't agree with the visible reality. It was not until there was a greater understanding of scientific truth that the true reality was accepted over the previous perceived reality.
Basing reality on sensorial perceptions reduces our level of understanding, thus allowing us to become vulnerable to deception. In order to understand the truth, a higher level of understanding must be achieved which allows for a better knowledge of the world, the truth and reality. It is harder to know and live a true reality than an illusion.
In the movie "The Matrix" Neo's perception of reality within the Matrix was based solely on his sensorial perceptions influenced by the computer program. Neo's perception of reality can be compared to Descartes statement "I think therefore I am" as within the Matrix what he believed was what he was.
When Neo was living within the computer program he believed that everything he experienced through his senses was real thus causing him to believe he was an illegal computer programmer and part of a software company. Within the Matrix Neo believed what he wanted to believe, reasoning that he lived in the real world simply because he was able to relate to the simulation using his senses. However, once Neo escaped from the Matrix he found that the life he had known was a deception, a "computer-generated dreamworld built to keep humans under control" (Morpheus) and at first he was reluctant to understand or accept the deception as it defied both his reason and his senses.
The idea of living a life of deception directly describes Descartes worry about a powerful outside force, which alters our perceptions of life. Descartes believed that an outside force projected and predicted every event of his life, thus deceiving him by causing him to believe that he existed when he didn't. However, he disproved this idea by claiming that the mere fact that he was deceived meant that he existed allowing him to "think therefore am". However, this argument doesn't prove that the external world exists or not and any evidence of proof put forward for the external world might merely be yet another trick of the outside force, thus ensuring that reasoning is equally as flawed as the perceptions. This worry reflects Neo's confusion when he is released from the Matrix, as he doesn't know whether he really is in the real world or only in another computer simulation.
Once released Neo was initially shocked, confused and disorientated as he was suddenly introduced to a world in which he didn't understand or seemingly belong to. His natural reaction to the real world was to deny its existance, reasoning that he was dreaming of a different world in which machines had taken control. Similar o 'Plato's Cave' Neo gradually relaxes from this reasoning and slowly learns why he was deceived. As Neo gains knowledge about the Matrix he ascends to a higher level of understanding in which he no longer blindly accepts information provided by the senses but requires answers to his questions in order to understand the information. Neo eventually attains the highest level of understanding, that of the knowledge of the good and the beautiful, which aids in his struggle against the Matrix and the machines.
Throughout the movie, Neo's perception of reality constantly alters until he is able to perceive the world through all the levels of understanding, rather than relying on information provided by the senses of the visible reality alone. Neo's knowledge of the Matrix, machine's and reality allow him to decide whether this 'new' reality is truly real or only another deception.
In conclusion, we have no knowledge of the true 'reality' or any way of learning the truth. Both Plato and Descartes explored these ideas of reality based on sensorial perceptions, ideas which have survived until this day as seen in the popular movie "The Matrix".
Plato's allegory of "The Cave" describes chained prisoners in a cave who interact with shadows cast by a fire. However, one prisoner frees himself and travels outside the cave where he is blinded by the light and only gradually begins to see the truth. Through this story, Plato uses his 'four levels of understanding' to show how relying on the senses could prevent a person's understanding of the truth or 'real reality'. In the story, the chained prisoners have only achieved the first level of understanding, that of visible 'reality' perceived by the senses, as they believe that the shadows cast on the cave wall are all there is to the world. The prisoners do not question this reality as they rely solely on their experiences and perceptions of the shadows and their chains represent their bondage to this view. However, the freed prisoner attains the higher levels of understanding including the knowledge of the truth behind the visible reality of the shadows, the scientific truth of a larger and different world beyond the cave and the knowledge of the beauty of the sun and outside reality compared to the restricted reality of the cave.
"The Matrix" mimics the allegory of "The Cave", interpreting the story through the setting of a non-physical and illusionary virtual world. In the movie Neo represents the freed prisoner who travels into the real world and gradually learns the truth of reality. The people who remain within the Matrix represent the prisoners of the cave, however, their visible reality understanding is a pure illusion fed directly into the brain rather than a true sensory experience like that of the cave prisoners. This illusion is the cause of the people's bondage to an entirely non-physical world, as they do not question their existance or the existance of others.
The understanding of the true reality is harder than the knowledge of the illusion. Throughout history, the minority who considered an alternate truth were persecuted, as ideas that did not conform challenged the perception of the day. Before the 1st century the Earth was considered to be flat and the centre of the universe, however those who denied this truth were severely punished and persecuted as theories of a circular planet and a heliocentric universe didn't agree with the visible reality. It was not until there was a greater understanding of scientific truth that the true reality was accepted over the previous perceived reality.
Basing reality on sensorial perceptions reduces our level of understanding, thus allowing us to become vulnerable to deception. In order to understand the truth, a higher level of understanding must be achieved which allows for a better knowledge of the world, the truth and reality. It is harder to know and live a true reality than an illusion.
In the movie "The Matrix" Neo's perception of reality within the Matrix was based solely on his sensorial perceptions influenced by the computer program. Neo's perception of reality can be compared to Descartes statement "I think therefore I am" as within the Matrix what he believed was what he was.
When Neo was living within the computer program he believed that everything he experienced through his senses was real thus causing him to believe he was an illegal computer programmer and part of a software company. Within the Matrix Neo believed what he wanted to believe, reasoning that he lived in the real world simply because he was able to relate to the simulation using his senses. However, once Neo escaped from the Matrix he found that the life he had known was a deception, a "computer-generated dreamworld built to keep humans under control" (Morpheus) and at first he was reluctant to understand or accept the deception as it defied both his reason and his senses.
The idea of living a life of deception directly describes Descartes worry about a powerful outside force, which alters our perceptions of life. Descartes believed that an outside force projected and predicted every event of his life, thus deceiving him by causing him to believe that he existed when he didn't. However, he disproved this idea by claiming that the mere fact that he was deceived meant that he existed allowing him to "think therefore am". However, this argument doesn't prove that the external world exists or not and any evidence of proof put forward for the external world might merely be yet another trick of the outside force, thus ensuring that reasoning is equally as flawed as the perceptions. This worry reflects Neo's confusion when he is released from the Matrix, as he doesn't know whether he really is in the real world or only in another computer simulation.
Once released Neo was initially shocked, confused and disorientated as he was suddenly introduced to a world in which he didn't understand or seemingly belong to. His natural reaction to the real world was to deny its existance, reasoning that he was dreaming of a different world in which machines had taken control. Similar o 'Plato's Cave' Neo gradually relaxes from this reasoning and slowly learns why he was deceived. As Neo gains knowledge about the Matrix he ascends to a higher level of understanding in which he no longer blindly accepts information provided by the senses but requires answers to his questions in order to understand the information. Neo eventually attains the highest level of understanding, that of the knowledge of the good and the beautiful, which aids in his struggle against the Matrix and the machines.
Throughout the movie, Neo's perception of reality constantly alters until he is able to perceive the world through all the levels of understanding, rather than relying on information provided by the senses of the visible reality alone. Neo's knowledge of the Matrix, machine's and reality allow him to decide whether this 'new' reality is truly real or only another deception.
In conclusion, we have no knowledge of the true 'reality' or any way of learning the truth. Both Plato and Descartes explored these ideas of reality based on sensorial perceptions, ideas which have survived until this day as seen in the popular movie "The Matrix".
