Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2010 - (Page 22)

BAD DREAMS, EVIL DEMONS, THE EXPERIENCE MACHINE: PhilosoPhy & the matRiX by Christopher Grau, Ph.D. In the 1999 sci-fi film The Matrix, a computer hacker named Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) discovers that his life has been an illusion. He wakes to discover himself in a pod, wired to a tower to which countless other pods are also wired. Like all the humans in those other pods, Neo has been used essentially as a battery by intelligent machines that have taken over Earth. To keep the humans docile, the machines feed them (through sockets in their heads) an illusory—yet completely realistic—world known as the Matrix, which the occupants have no way to know is not real. This brief summary does little justice to the movie’s thrilling plot, but it does provide a hint of some of the big philosophical questions raised by the film. Here, philosopher Christopher Grau discusses some of the parallels between the scenario described in The Matrix and similar situations imagined by Descartes and other more recent philosophers. As Grau points out, such scenarios continue to fascinate and engage philosophers (and sci-fi buﬀs) today. istock 22 imagine Mar/Apr 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2010

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2010
Contents
Editor’s Note
Big Questions
In My Own Words
Why Study Philosophy?
The Great Conversation
Robots, Zombies, and Descartes
The Wide World of Philosophy
The Philosopher’s Toolbox
Bad Dreams, Evil Demons, and The Experience Machine
Harry Potter and Plato
Exploring Ethics (or, Why I Give Up Saturdays in Spring)
How to Start a Philosophy Club
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Middle Ground
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Sudoku
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2010