The allegory of the cave. Philosopher Plato has come up with this idea of the cave. That all humans are living in a cave and all we see is shadows. Those shadows are all we see and all we know, therefore we believe it is real. But how do we truly know if it is real? Just because you can see it, just because you can feel it, or just because you can hear it, that means it’s real? How do we actually know it is there? If it is actually real? Tough question, right? Well, what is real? Recently, I saw a movie called “The Matrix”. It takes the idea of Plato’s allegory of the cave and brings it onto another level. This idea of the matrix is that we are all a bunch of brains in pods connected to wires that are telling our brain that we are living an actual life. The real world is taken over by AI, or artificial intelligence, and this type of technology has overpowered mankind. They are the ones that are living in the real world, fighting these wars to keep our brains safe. So, the idea is that we aren’t actually in the “real” world, we are just in the matrix. Now, when it gets confusing is when you question is the matrix actually a bad thing? Well, will we ever be sure? Many people would want to know what the real world is and some may believe that the ignorance is a beautiful thing. Some would rather be in the real world, whether or not it may be worse, because at least they know they aren’t living a lie. Yet some may rather to just live a beautiful life, even though none of it may be the truth. But how would we know? How would they manage to create a theory like this. How did we begin this idea of questioning reality and questioning real life? Plato has created this idea of us living inside a cage and the shadows is showing what we think we see. Now, once you’ve envisioned that idea in your head, now imagine one of the people exits the cave. This one person is allowed to get out of the cave and they see the real world. And what is the first thing they notice? Light. They see the sun, and it burns their eyes. This idea of the sun burning their eyes explains the realization of the truth and how it may sometimes be painful. As they continue with this idea of no longer just seeing shadows and actually the real thing might seem exciting. As this character explores the real world and sees the real objects and no longer shadows, the person goes back into the cave. They go back to tell the other people still in the cave. The people in the cave don’t believe him. This shows how the truth seems so out of hand for it to be real, and what they see now, the shadows, they believe is “real”. As the person is in the cave, he tries to see the shadows again, but he doesn’t see them the same. This part of this idea by Plato is explaining how once you’ve seen the real world, you won’t be able to see the matrix the same way ever again. So connecting this thought to the movie “The Matrix”, That’s why it is such a difficult decision for the main character, Neo. Because he was given the choice to see the real world, or he could return back to the matrix and believe whatever he wants to believe. This is a very hard thing to understand as well as it is a difficult decision to make. What would you choose?