from: Open Court
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.4372
EAN: 9780812695021
ISBN: 081269502X
Label: Open Court
Manufacturer: Open Court
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: August 28, 2002
Publisher: Open Court
Studio: Open Court
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The Matrix conveys the horror of a false world made of nothing but perceptions. Based on the premise that reality is a dream controlled by malevolent forces, it is one of the most overtly philosophical movies ever to come out of Hollywood. These thought-provoking essays by the same team of young philosophers who created The Simpsons and Philosophy discuss different facets of the primary philosophical puzzle of The Matrix: Can we be sure the world is really there, and if not, what should we do about it? Other chapters address issues of religion, lifestyle, pop culture, the Zeitgeist, the nature of mind and matter, and the reality of fiction.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
As a rookie to philosophy who thoroughly enjoyed the Batman and Watchmen entries in this Pop Culture and Philosophy series, I found this particular book to be a less enjoyable read, though not so bad that I stopped reading it.
The book is a collection of essays, some of which - such as an early one that explores the Matrix and how it relates to Plato's cave - are very good reads, but these are interspersed with essays that are overly technical, boring or that take a tangent and run with it, leaving the movie in the dust.
Lovers of philosophy will love this book. Lovers of the movie that aren't philosophy buffs will fall into two camps - they will either hate it or think it's just okay. You can enjoy the movie without thinking too hard about it - not so with this book, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but not necessarily a good thing either.
Rating:  -
"The Matrix and Philosophy" as edited by William Irwin is a comprehensive, detailed and thought-provoking look at philosophy in the digital age, drawing parallels between the "Matrix" motion picture and older schools of thought, religious dogmas and pragmatic approaches to the way we think and feel. There is far too much information spread out over the 276 pages and 18 chapters to absorb at one time; on the contrary, this book will be with me for many years, as every time I open to a given page, I find something I didn't see before.
Based strictly on its technical merit, it is of outstanding literary quality. Who cares if the the reader agrees or disagrees with the arguments and premises. The real genius behind "The Matrix and Philosophy" is its uncanny ability to get the reader to think beyond the ordinary, to explore deeper regions of consciousness and how the subconscious self is more conscious than we know.
Rating:  -
I ordered the book for a friend, another professor, but Amazon shipped it UPS with signature required. UPS left two stickers on my door while I was at work and I never got the book.
Why not USP--the US Post? A paperback book with value of $17 does not need to be shipped and handled like opium or gold. If UPS, why signature?
Bottom line, it was returned to Amazon, I ate the shipping charges, and bought the book at my local Barnes & Noble. End of review.
Great book, BTW. I'm teaching it next term. But the university will do a brokered order through Bowker and students will pay a 40% mark-up, I suppose. Who's getting rich on this racket?
--Dan Bentley-Baker
Rating: -
This book is not philosophy. It is a bunch of esays that could never have been published even in a mediocre journal. But put the word "matrix" with the word "philosophy" and som epeople will by anything.
Rating: -
If you are looking for a book that details the Philosophy of The Matrix movie, this book isn't for you. I thought that The Matrix raised some unique and interesting philosphical questions that I wanted to see expanded, so I bought this book. While parts of this book are interesting and well-written, most of it relates to how The Matrix interacts with other philosphical models that we are already familiar with. Each chapter is written by a different author, with a different perspective on the movie. Particularly irritating was an essay that should have been entitled "Why eXistenZ is a better movie than The Matrix."
As I said, parts of this book were interesting, but much of it wasn't. Also, it seemed like each contributor had to reference the scene where Cyber decides to betray his friends to Agent Smith as part of their contract, because it comes up many, many times.
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