Allegory Of The Cave Comparison

The Matrix, “The Allegory of the Cave,” and “The Meditations on First Philosophy,” readings all seem to have one common thread. These are still the age old questions that remains unanswered, “Am I real,” “is the world real,” “is anything real?” These questions or state of mind has been asked and answered by so many people beyond these readings that it is overwhelmingly, one of the largest subjects not only in philosophy, but also in non-fiction, fiction and science fiction writings. Writers have been using this subject to deal with counter realities for a very long time. The theme in The Matrix is that the whole world that people thinks exists, does not. The theme in The Allegory of the Cave, deals with the same concept; that what people perceive
to be true or their subsistence, existence, or reality is not what they believe it to be. In the Meditations on First Philosophy, the writer Descartes, also questions truth, existence, and his sanity on what is real and what is not. This is the common thread in all three writings. Another comparison would be mankind’s struggle to believe. All three readings show the struggle to believe that there is more to this world, or life, than meets the eye. These questions in all of these stories are still mankind’s, in some cases, denial of God and Christ, and trying in some way to make sense of life and daily struggles. When you do not have believe in Christ, there is a vacuum, and this vacuum becomes filled with endless “what ifs” or different realities. One of the most written about of these is, “What if this is all a dream?” That is the core of these three readings. The largest contrast, in my opinion was in, Meditations on First Philosophy, by Descartes, where he writes about God and Deity.
His methodology in contrasting God’s goodness or perverse deceit makes him accept that there is a Deity, but He is not responsible for this state of animation. There is no mention of God or Deity in the other two readings. Another contrast would be, in The Matrix, everyone is hooked up to central computers, in Allegory of the Cave, the people are chained to a wall in a cave, and in Descartes writing, he is merely a prisoner of his own
mind.

3.
The answer to this question lies in each and everyone’s individual being. The answer for me would be two-fold. If the world or reality were as it is now, I would choose reality. Not to say I would not mind changing a few things, but for the most part this would be my choice. However, if the word had gone completely mad and everyone was against Christianity and no one believed in God or Christ, I might decide to live in “ignorant bliss.” My reason would be, because life without hope is no life at all. This is another age old question. “How can you know anything?” The simple answer is you cannot. We are taught from infancy to trust our senses; the fire is hot, do not touch it. Do you get burned if you go against that? Yes, you do. When you look with your eyes, you see the ocean. Is that true? Yes, it is. When you listen with your ears, you hear the wind or the birds. Is that true? Yes, it is. When you smell with your nose, night blooming jasmine, it has one of the loveliest fragrances in the world. Is that true? Yes, it is. So, to be deceived by your senses, everything would have to be a lie. I do not believe God has deceived us, and I believe what I see, feel, touch and smell to be real. However, I do believe that if there is life somewhere besides earth, that all of their perceptions might be different than
ours.