Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
6th out of 56 books
—
17 voters
The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (Popular Culture and Philosophy #3)
by
William Irwin ,
Gerald J. Erion, Barry Smith, Carolyn Korsmeyer, Jonathan J. Sanford, Jason Holt, Theodore Schick, Gregory Bassham
,
more…
The Matrix conveys the horror of a false world made of nothing but perceptions. Based on the premise that reality is a dream controlled by malevolent forces, it is one of the most overtly philosophical movies ever to come out of Hollywood. These thought-provoking essays by the same team of young philosophers who created The Simpsons and Philosophy discuss different facets...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
August 28th 2002
by Open Court
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,256)
This book discusses the reoccurring philosophical trends and ideas in The Matrix (movie); topics such as, neo-materialism, 'fate', freewill, and nihilism. The idea of nihilism expressed in the matrix pertained to my scientific philosophy on life, and was incredibly interesting to say the least - it really makes you think about real life implications of the 'matrix'. The movie series The Matrix suggests humans’ life is without objective meaning as it portrays Earth and it’s populous as an artific...more
Another entry in the "Popular Culture and Philosophy" series that uses a pop culture phenomenon, in this case the 1999 movie The Matrix, to examine philosophical topics (see also my reviews of books in this series covering the TV show
Lost
,
Monty Python
, and
Harry Potter
).
Not surprisingly, these essays by a variety of philosophers and academics focus on topics such as the nature of reality, true knowledge, fate, and religion. Generally, the quality of the essays is good and the material is re...more
Not surprisingly, these essays by a variety of philosophers and academics focus on topics such as the nature of reality, true knowledge, fate, and religion. Generally, the quality of the essays is good and the material is re...more
Descartes this...blah, blah, blah,....brain in a vat that...blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I get it. It is just so incredibly dull. Plus the fact that each article is written by a different person (often a student) leads to a lot of repeated themes and authors trying to sound impressive rather than informative and entertaining.
Unlike The Dharma of Star Wars, this book added nothing to the enjoyment of the film.
Unlike The Dharma of Star Wars, this book added nothing to the enjoyment of the film.
I rarely read non fiction and was a little worried that trying to listen would be difficult. In fact it was very easy. The set up was like a series of radio lectures by different authors.
It may be 'pop' culture but I found it got me thinking and the grey matter is still mulling over things days later - so that's good - right?
I was amazed at the different aspects of Philosophy covered including Plato, Descartes and Zen Buddhism and now feel a burning desire to see the Matrix again.
I will definite...more
It may be 'pop' culture but I found it got me thinking and the grey matter is still mulling over things days later - so that's good - right?
I was amazed at the different aspects of Philosophy covered including Plato, Descartes and Zen Buddhism and now feel a burning desire to see the Matrix again.
I will definite...more
An interesting book which ties lines of philosophical reasoning to the highly symbolic Matrix movie. I thought that parts of it were quite insightful, but too many of the philosophers used the same 4 scenes of the movie to make their point that it became quite repetitive - Trinity bring Neo back to life, the choice of Red or Blue pill, the scene with towers of pod-humans energizing batteries for the AI world, and Cypher's betrayal.
Perhaps different writers could've analyzed different plot eleme...more
Perhaps different writers could've analyzed different plot eleme...more
This is a decent review of the first Matrix film, but after watching the second two and seeing what the Wachowskis do to deconstruct the mythology they built in the first movie, this book seems completely out of date. There are discussions of Morpheus's dogma, for example, that don't have the advantage of seeing how his beliefs are challenged in the succeeding films.
As an introduction to philosophy in the trilogy, this is a decent read, but it falls into the trap many academic books do. The acad...more
As an introduction to philosophy in the trilogy, this is a decent read, but it falls into the trap many academic books do. The acad...more
I was scared to read this, assuming I wouldn't remember much from my college days. But I'm actually doing quite well, and this is pretty interesting. My favorite in college was philo of the mind, which is totally what the Matrix is about, and probably why I liked the movie so much.
The only thought I've had worth noting at this point is that I just gone done reading a book discussing the concept of false/ignorant happiness (Farenheit 451), and now I'm reading about the Matrix, where you have to d...more
The only thought I've had worth noting at this point is that I just gone done reading a book discussing the concept of false/ignorant happiness (Farenheit 451), and now I'm reading about the Matrix, where you have to d...more
The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real is a really interesting and fun book. It is about the first Matrix movie and how the Wakowski Brothers incorporated many different aspect of philosophy into the movie. The book examines various scenes from the movie and then explains how they are related to fascinating philosophical concepts. Some of the philosophers that the different authors who contribute to individual parts of the book delve into include: Socrates, Kant, Descartes,...more
A collection of essays that analyzes philosophy using the film, The Matrix as the common ground. Some just went over my head while others were able to keep my interest. I particularly liked : the religion of the matrix and the problems of pluralism, happiness and cypher's choice: is ignorance bliss?, notes from underground: nihilism and the matrix, the matrix Marx and the coppertop's life....
But if you don't like philosophy or the Matrix, don't come near this book!
But if you don't like philosophy or the Matrix, don't come near this book!
Loved reading this book, as it gives you great insight into the entire concept of the Matrix. Based more on the philosophical concepts and how they could be applied to life as we know it. It is not an easy book to read (Just as with all Philosophy), and you have to read it slowly to digest it all. But if you've got extra time on your hands and want to take a trip "down the rabbit hole" then give it a shot.
If you liked the Matrix movies and enjoy philosophy this book is for you. Specifically analyzing the Matrix movie with notorious philosophers like Descartes and Plato, this provides an interesting way to learn more about these important men and learn more about some interpretations of the movie. (The author wrote a second book as a follow up which focuses on the sequels).
Today, someone txt'd me out of the blue and asked what Neo's name was in The Matrix.
The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real is a good introduction to some of the more common threads of philosophy. The pop-culture references make it easy for the philosophical layman to get his or her head around tricky concepts like the nature of reality, fate and consciousness, whilst also addressing issues of ethics and morality within the construct of the film.
If you like the Matrix films...more
The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real is a good introduction to some of the more common threads of philosophy. The pop-culture references make it easy for the philosophical layman to get his or her head around tricky concepts like the nature of reality, fate and consciousness, whilst also addressing issues of ethics and morality within the construct of the film.
If you like the Matrix films...more
This book is a collection of philosophical essays on the Matrix movie. In the very beginning of the book, the author states that every philosophy has a home in the Matrix as so many of the parts of the movie are universal so each of the essays takes a look at different philosophies that the authors believe can be found in the Matrix. This book was just not my cup of tea.
Saw the Matrix trilogy this past week on AMC and figured I'd check this out. Somewhat interesting but very redundant, revisiting Plato's caves and Decartes Meditations innumerable times. It is a collection of essays covering the same topic so the repetition is understandable. It might make for a nice discussion in a philosophy class.
Very interesting, it got me interested in philosophy (it was the first philosophy book I ever read), but I found the essays a bit dry originally and could only really get into it the second time around. This could be due to the difference in my age between the first and second reads, as well.
It was interesting at first, but quickly became repetitive. Ultimately its just a movie...the first was fantastic and the other two not so much. Philosophy was discarded for special effects.
Read Gregory Bassham's article "The Religion of The Matrix..."
And Slavoj Zizek's article "The Matrix: Or, The Two Sides of Perversion"
And Slavoj Zizek's article "The Matrix: Or, The Two Sides of Perversion"
This is a fairly decent text. Out of all the pop culture and philosophy volumes, this is among the better ones.
The papers presented span over a broad range of philosophical perspectives-from metaphysics to deconstructionism, classical to postmodern.
i particularly appreciate that many of the essays are critical of the film as a work of art philosophy.
A good read if you're the nerdy sort. At least a very basic grasp of philosophy is probably required if you want to enjoy reading it. Otherwise,...more
The papers presented span over a broad range of philosophical perspectives-from metaphysics to deconstructionism, classical to postmodern.
i particularly appreciate that many of the essays are critical of the film as a work of art philosophy.
A good read if you're the nerdy sort. At least a very basic grasp of philosophy is probably required if you want to enjoy reading it. Otherwise,...more
Aug 04, 2011
Tanya
added it
I thought this was a clever book and quite enjoyed it. I look forward to using it next year in my class.
deep pholosogy kind of reading but requires a junk of stamina to finish it, may need to read it again to get it sink in
Aug 03, 2011
Mark Sequeira
added it
Okay, so it's not Derrida or James Smith or Caputo but pretty interesting and fairly readable.
The sub-meanings goes straight back to Socrates... a fall down the rabbit hole.
Wonderful if you are a Matrix and Philosophy geek.
Great book. Good break from more intense philosophy books.
At least helped me to get one chgk question...
May 16, 2011
Planus
is currently reading it
So far, it is clarifying and enlightening.
The best in this popular genre
I read only half of it
Great resource! :)
Jul 16, 2009
Tim Mulcahy
marked it as to-read
Sounds interesting.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| excellent book | 2 | 11 | Nov 17, 2011 06:42pm |
- B.A. in philosophy, Summa Cum Laude, Fordham University, 1992. Full Presidential Scholarship.
- Dissertation "Harmonizing Hermeneutics: The Normative and Descriptive Approaches, Interpretation and Criticism," Buffalo, 1996, 226 pp. Awarded the Perry Prize for Outstanding Dissertations in Philosophy.
- Ph.D. in philosophy, The State University of New York at Buffalo, June 1, 1996. Presidential Fell...more
More about William Irwin...
- Dissertation "Harmonizing Hermeneutics: The Normative and Descriptive Approaches, Interpretation and Criticism," Buffalo, 1996, 226 pp. Awarded the Perry Prize for Outstanding Dissertations in Philosophy.
- Ph.D. in philosophy, The State University of New York at Buffalo, June 1, 1996. Presidential Fell...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
The whole book seeme...more
Feb 05, 2009 06:53pm