THE MATRIX and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real

'THE MATRIX and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real. Ed. William Irwin. Chicago: Open Court, 2002. Indexed.

Anthology of 20 essays, divided into five sections, covering such topics as: Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," skepticism, moral/ethical issues, "The Metaphysics of The Matrix," philosophy of mind, "Neo-Materialism and the Death of the Subject," "Fate, Freedom, and Foreknowledge," Buddhism, Cypher's Choice (i.e., for ignorance and imagined happiness), nihilism, existential authenticity, "Penetrating Keanu: New Holes, but the Same Old Shit" (by a critic who much prefers D. Cronenberg's eXistenZ, q.v., under Drama), Marxian considerations, postmodernism, and perversion. Written in plain English, but the essays in the anthology Taking the Red Pill may be easier for an introduction, and readily available.[1]

There is a sequel, More MATRIX and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded. Chicago and LaSalle, IL: Open Court, 2005. Which we probably should have caught since it was reviewed by Richard D. Erlich (our Initial Compiler), SFRA Review #272 (Apr./May/June 2005): 12-14; possibly available here (as of October 2023, "No Results Found" by Erlich, a member of SFRA).[2]

RDE, early; expanded: finishing, 23Oct23