Existence of mankind and the extent of human knowledge in terms of reality has been a debatable issue from the time of Greek philosophers till present. The Matrix is a science fiction movie which illustrates the human existence being deceived in a dream world which is far off from the real world. The matrix as in the name of the movie is defined as the dream world, where humans are deceived by the Artificial Intelligence (AI). Throughout the movie, the main character Neo has always questioned his reality and wishes to learn the answer to the question "What is the Matrix?" The philosophy of the movie, The Matrix shows similarities to Descartes's philosophy, since both doubts the reality of the world and use the similar idea of a deceiving creature.
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Before Neo discovers the meaning of the matrix, he was asked by defense operator Morpheus, "Have you ever had a dream that you are so sure was real? What if you were able to wake up from that dream, how would you know the difference between that dream world and the real world?” (Richard & Smith, 1997). Morpheus’s questions to Neo addresses the reality issue that concerns Descartes's dream metaphor. In the light of Descartes's Dream Argument, Neo may not be able to tell when is he dreaming or awakened but according to Descartes, the things in the dream are patterned after real things. Even if we dream something unique, the basic components in the dream, such as color and shapes are based on something truly exists and a person is able to encounter these true components because he/she is conscious. An example of this is when Neo goes back in the matrix he sees a woman in a red dress. According to Descartes, even if the red dress woman's image was imaginary, its bases are real and Neo was conscious when he saw the lady in the red dress. Neo had encountered these colors and faces before when he thought that the matrix was the real world and hence had a conscious sense of these in his mind. Thus, we can say that Descartes's ideas about consciousness in the dream are supported in the movie by this
Before Neo discovers the meaning of the matrix, he was asked by defense operator Morpheus, "Have you ever had a dream that you are so sure was real? What if you were able to wake up from that dream, how would you know the difference between that dream world and the real world?” (Richard & Smith, 1997). Morpheus’s questions to Neo addresses the reality issue that concerns Descartes's dream metaphor. In the light of Descartes's Dream Argument, Neo may not be able to tell when is he dreaming or awakened but according to Descartes, the things in the dream are patterned after real things. Even if we dream something unique, the basic components in the dream, such as color and shapes are based on something truly exists and a person is able to encounter these true components because he/she is conscious. An example of this is when Neo goes back in the matrix he sees a woman in a red dress. According to Descartes, even if the red dress woman's image was imaginary, its bases are real and Neo was conscious when he saw the lady in the red dress. Neo had encountered these colors and faces before when he thought that the matrix was the real world and hence had a conscious sense of these in his mind. Thus, we can say that Descartes's ideas about consciousness in the dream are supported in the movie by this