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The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (Popular Culture and Philosophy, V. 3)

The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (Popular Culture and Philosophy, V. 3)

List Price: $17.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Are you illiterate?...
Review: ...If not pick up a real philosophy book. This is fluff my roommate picked up because he thought the Matrix was 'deep'. I love the movies but this is pathetic. These concepts are too important to be treated so shallowly. This is a primer for one who has no genuine interest in philosophy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A few essays worth reading
Review: A few of the essays deal with whether we could be living in the matrix (or some other alternative to the real world). The others use the movie as a springboard to discuss other areas of philosophy, but the connection to the movie is very thin.

A few authors tried to argue that we cannot possibly be in the matrix, but I thought their reasons for thinking this were inadequate. I meditated about what I myself believe and came to the following conclusion. A matrix is a logical possibility, but there are plenty of logical possibilities that are not realized in the real world. And how does one choose among numerous logical possibilites? Here's where Occam's Razor applies. The simplest answer is that the world is for the most part what it seems to be. As long as this explanation works and makes sense of things, we might as well prefer it. We gain little by seriously entertaining more complicated possibilities.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Interesting book but not something to be taken too seriously
Review: All in all I must say I was entertained by the book and the book did what the author intended to do, spark the reader's interest in philosophy (or in my case respark)
What a lot of the negative reviewers seem to miss is the book is not meant to be a serious philosophical work rather it is using the Matrix as a medium to present some major philosophical ideas so the reader can then go out with some information and read some serious philosophical works. Some will say that the candy coating of philosophy goes against the ideals of philosophy, but I disagree.
I suggest this book if you enjoyed the Matrix and want to get some reference on some philosophical works that will help you hit the subjects that the Matrix made you think about(whether the creators of this movie intended this or not).

On a side note, the only essay I had a problem with is the one by Cynthia Freeland. This essay is the typical Fem-Nazi babble that completely overanalyzes EVERYTHING and puts meanings to items that weren't intended to be perceived that way. Most people who have encountered a Fem-Nazi will know what to expect and unfortunately the sad truth is these Women are hurting their own gender and ultimately this book as well.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Welcome to the desert of the boring...
Review: First let me say that I'm a big MATRIX fan. I also have a passion for philosophy. I had high hopes for this book but was soon dissapointed. With each new essay I felt I was starting over. The cave analogy became tiresome and I often found the different essayist going over the same topics. The other writters seem to use the movie to go off on ideas that have little to do with the movie. If you're just starting out in philosophy this might make an o.k. introduction otherwise I would keep looking.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Philosophy and Pop Culture at its best
Review: For anyone who loved the Matrix. An easy and enjoyable read. Makes philosophy enjoyable and easy to relate to.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: On Second Thought.....
Review: Heidegger and an entire tradition in Western Thought that began with Thales back in the day are likely wondering by now if an unexamined life might be best left alone. This is MTV philosophy: an entertaining read for 3 or 4 minutes at a time, then go get a pepsi. Like the film, it is a bit of harmless fun.
If however, the suggestion is put forth taht there is something besides pop culture going on here, better we should all head back to the Cave and stay put staring at the shadows.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Are you a REAL Matrix guru
Review: Here it is, folks - the book that NO true Matrix fan should be without. If you ever contemplate the many philosophical "splinter[s] to the mind" the movie conjures up, this book will shed new light so that you may further your analysis. Was Cypher's decision morally wrong? READ THE BOOK. Want to know about many of the subtleties in the movie you've likely missed? READ THE BOOK.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: very dissopointing. this book just plain sucked!
Review: i couldn't wait to get this. but then when I started reading it, i just got so fustrated with it. i mean, it was such crap...what they were saying. they got everything completely wrong. at the end of the book, i was so pissed off, that i started to just write down why hate their stupid little debates they propose. this book is a disgrace to the wachowski brothers and just the matrix phenomenon in general.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another great book in the Philosophy in Pop Culture Series
Review: I just discovered this series two years ago with Seinfeld and Philosophy and then moved on to The Simpsons and Philosophy. When I heard about the release of The Matrix and Philosophy, I was excited to check it out and it did not disappoint. This series is perfect for those like myself, that have an interest in philosophy but don't know exactly where to start. I'm always looking for sources that can take complex subjects and present them in an informative yet entertaining manner. The Matrix and Philosophy and the others in the series do exactly that by taking scenes from pop culture and helping us understand philosophical dialogue through those scenes. I'm looking forward to whatever this series has coming next.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No Mention Of Marcuse's Themes
Review: 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.


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