The synopsis of The Matrix and the readings of Plato and Descartes all have similarities and differences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One thing these three writings have in common is the subject matter. The synopsis of The Matrix and the readings of Plato and Descartes all touch on the theme of reality. They address the concept of whether what you have experienced through your senses in daily life is accurate, or true reality, or whether it is all just an illusion or a trick. One of the differences between these three sources is how they approach this question of reality. In the synopsis of The Matrix, the main character Neo discovers that not everyone experiences reality ("Synopsis: The Matrix"). Instead, their bodies are kept alive in machines and a large computer transmits information to their brains via wires that make them experience sights, sounds, tastes and more to make people believe that they live and experience these things when they really aren't. Synopsis: The Matrix). In Plato's Republic, men are chained on the spot in a cave ("The Allegory of..."). As a result, they only see reflections on the wall of the cave (of people, animals, etc.) ("'The Allegory of...'). Because that's all they see , this is their reality, when in reality there is an entire world and other living beings just outside the cave if only they could see or leave the cave ("'The Allegory of... ). The Matrix and the writings of Plato address the concept of reality in relation to the senses and the information we receive through them. Descartes takes a different approach. In Descartes' Meditations on the First Philosophy, Descartes considers dreams. He explains how the dream seems so real and wonders if the dream seems real and isn't, what will happen if real life seems real but isn't in reality ("Meditation I things...)? Descartes approaches the concept of reality in relation to dreams more than to people's senses. Although these three sources address the topic of reality, they do not necessarily approach it in the same way. Another reason these writings are all different is the time period in which they were written. Plato's Republic was written between 514A1 and 518D8, Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy was written in 1641, and the film The Matrix was released in 1999. These sources all come from surprisingly different time periods, but still address the same question common. of reality (as discussed above). Although the time periods in which these pieces were created are so different, it shows how widespread and timeless the discussion of reality is. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Article Essay After reading these sources, one may ask how can we prove that the world we experience is real? At its core, this question is about skepticism. James K. Dew Jr. and Mark W. Foreman address the subject of skepticism in their book “How Do We Know?” » (2014). In their book, they discuss and find flaws in the different skeptical approaches. Dew and Foreman acknowledge that skeptical views raise points worth discussing, but conclude that “postmodern philosophers overstate their case and draw illogical conclusions” (Dew and Foreman, 2014, p. 58). They state that "although it is always possible that our statements about the world.