The Allegory of the Matrix. By Derek Moulton

Transcription

1 The Allegory of the Matrix By Derek Moulton

2 In the movie The Matrix, a character named Cypher makes a decision to betray his friends so he can be plugged back into the matrix dream world where he feels he ll be happy and escape his pain. Why would he do this? Can we blame Cypher for his decision? Was his choice right or wrong, or would it matter? I ll use the perspective of philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Epictetus (as well as other fatalists) and even my own to find the answers to these questions. Before we begin I d like to briefly summarize the situation of Cypher in The Matrix to help understand the problem. Cypher, like most of the human race, is trapped in the matrix, which is a dream world that was created by the machines to enslave the humans. Cypher is freed back into the real world, which he finds to be a hopeless battle to fight and he is miserable. He desires to return to the dream world and forget reality so he can live in ignorant bliss. To accomplish this, Cypher makes a deal and betrays his team and the human race, which he pays for with his life. What would Socrates and Plato think about Cypher s decision? Socrates and Plato are well known philosophers and they would find that overall, Cypher made the wrong choice. However, they would both be somewhat sympathetic to Cypher, because Cypher is very unhappy and only wants to find peace for his troubled soul. As Plato says, For only in the state which offers this, will they rule who are truly rich, not in silver or gold, but in virtue and wisdom, which are the true blessings in life. (p21 Allegory of the Cave). Plato and Socrates both think that happiness is important to the soul and would therefore be sympathetic to Cypher in this principle. However, they would find far more things against Cypher s decision than for it. In Plato s Allegory of the Cave we find a similar situation to The Matrix about people living in a false world, and he relates it to how one can find reality and enlighten one s soul. In this allegory he comments about the people living in the cave, Would he not say with Homer Better to be the poor servant of a poor master and to endure anything, rather than think as

3 they do and live after their manner? (p207 The Allegory of the Cave). In this he believes people should rather want to be in the real world and be miserable than live in a false one happily. This is opposite of what Cypher has chosen. Not only has Cypher chosen to live in ignorant bliss, but he has also known what reality is and has chosen to reject it to retreat back into the cave, which would contribute even more against his choice in the eyes of Plato and Socrates. When Cypher makes the deal with Agent Smith to be plugged back into the matrix, he negotiates that he wants to be wealthy and important as part of the deal. Socrates would feel that this would also be wrong of Cypher to desire. Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively. (p.30b The Apology). What Socrates is saying is that one should live one s life in a good, positive way and they will become wealthy in joy and peace rather than seek it from actual money and status. Cypher wants to ensure that he will be happy once plugged back into the matrix and he thinks he would have it so by being made rich and famous. Socrates would strongly disagree with Cypher on this point. What might one like Epictetus, as well as other fatalists, think about Cypher and his decision? It appears that he would also be mostly against it. Cypher, as you know, is very unhappy. However, Epictetus wouldn t pity Cypher, as he once said, When therefore we are hindered or disturbed or grieved, let us neither blame anyone but ourselves (p. 92) Epictetus believes in this very strongly. Cypher actually blames everything and everyone else besides himself. Therefore, in the eyes of Epictetus, it was his fault that he was miserable. In the real world that Cypher is in, the one he is trying to escape, he wishes a lot of things would be different as well as wishes to avoid being in a place where he is unhappy. Cypher feels he s a slave. Epictetus would sate, Whoever, therefore wants to be free, let him

4 neither wish for anything nor avoid anything that is under the control of others; or else he is necessarily a slave. (p. 93). As Epictetus explained, Cypher s world was not under his control and yet he was trying to control it and he was trying to wish for things that he could not have which led to his decision. In fact, Cypher shouldn t have even had the option of such a decision in the first place, not having any control over such circumstances. Epictetus, as well as many others, believe in fate. In the story Oedipus the King, something interesting occurs that is similar to Cypher and The Matrix as a whole. In Oedipus the King, the king was told his future that he would be killed by his son and his son would marry his own mother. This caused him to act out to prevent this, which in the end led to the prediction coming true. This illustrates the idea of fate. In The Matrix, there is also the idea of fate which Cypher plays a role in. If Cypher had not acted in the way that he did, would Neo ever have learned that he was the one? Would he have unlocked his power and ultimately won the war? Perhaps Cypher s decision was necessary in order to trigger such events. Perhaps it was fate. Had Cypher not acted the way he did, perhaps these things would never have happened. After studying various philosophers and Cypher s choice, I have my own ideas and philosophy that I will apply. I find that my own philosophy has similarities to others such as Socrates and Epictetus, but it s mostly my own. I would pity Cypher in the fact that he is so miserable and hopeless that he d do anything to escape. However, I think he made very poor choices. If he wanted to escape that badly, he could have found another way that wouldn t have hurt anyone. Happiness is important and I believe one should pursue it, whatever it may be, as long as nobody gets hurt. If one is happy cooking, they should cook, if they are happy playing video games, they should play video games, etc. At the same time, I think people should try to unlock their true potential, because once you ve learned what you re capable of, you can

5 be very happy and have a good life. That road might require a lot of pain and struggle, but it should be searched nonetheless. I think Cypher should have asked for help from the others when he felt weak, and tried to find a way to help the cause more. Perhaps then, he would have found happiness in a greater purpose of helping to free people from the matrix and trying to win the war. However, Cypher was weak and chose otherwise, and I think he got what he deserved. In the end, the good guys won. There s a lot to be learned from the points of view of these philosophers, and even my own, about Cypher and his decision to betray his friends in order to live in ignorant bliss. Between Socrates, Plato, Epictetus and even myself, it can be concluded that we all found Cypher to be wrong in his choice overall. Some found a degree of pity for him, and others did not. Maybe Cypher s decision played a key part in the outcome as a whole as determined by fate. Who knows? What do you think about Cypher? Would you agree or disagree with myself or any of the others on our views?

6 Works Cited Plato, The Apology from The Trial and Death of Socrates. 3rd. Indianpolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Print. Plato, REPUBLIC AND OTHER WORKS, 1989, , Copyright Anchor Books/Doubleday: Division of Random House Inc. Epictetus, The Encheiridion, from The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature. (3 rd Ed). Louis Pojman and Lewis Vaughn (eds). (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). ISBN: P