The Matrix Trilogy by Wachowski Brothers Movie Review

The Matrix Trilogy by Wachowski Brothers - Movie Review Example Alexandra Lazar states that the idea of â€Å"formlessness of chaos† can be found in: â€Å"Chinese and the Babylonian creation stories† (Lazar, 2004). She illustrates that â€Å"the dragon represents the principle of order, which emerges from chaos. In Babylonian myth, the Goddess Tiamat together with other early gods embodied the various faces of chaos† (Lazar, 2004). In general, every universal religion has such binary oppositions: good-evil, chaos-order, hell-paradise, etc. Probably, the fact that Matrix is based on binary opposition helps to explain why it is so successful in our society. Everything around us is based on this concept: love-hate; truth-lie, etc. On the other hand, the Matrix retrieved great knowledge which most of people fail to see. We live in a structured world, which becomes a Matrix for us, and we unable to change it (or at least see â€Å"the reality†). The structure of state, government, bureaucratic system creates a Matrix like its movie prototype. â€Å"The Matrix trilogy† is so popular because our generation feels like robots or machines who â€Å"conquered† by bureaucratic system of the world order and â€Å"in order to break free from this ominous and quantifying 'real' we would need to ask further questions about defining links that 'divide and conquer† (Lazar, 2004). In the article, Lazar underlines that: â€Å"power in itself is deceptive as it is based on a paradox: it allows the taste of truth/knowledge but causes its own end (and arguably the end of truth/knowledge)† (Lazar, 2004). This philosophical idea can be found in stoicism, and corresponds with the notion of â€Å"aporia† and dialectical exercise. For instance, â€Å"in â€Å"Parmenides† the aporia means the form that the sensible and intelligible worlds are incorrigibly separated and also are not separated, in that each side has the other in it† (Doull, n.d.). This idea runs through the Matrix trying to uncover the truth of reality, but the heroes rewrite this knowledge showing that 'there is no spoon†, so what? Again, the views are faced with the binary opposition which creates â€Å"quasi-myth† of reality.  

Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of using faith as a basis for Essay

Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of using faith as a basis for knowledge in religion and in one area of knowledge from the ToK diagram - Essay Example Such beliefs have been challenged by logical positivism and upheld by fideism (Moser, 2002, p.128). The truth and validity of such beliefs therefore depends on the strength of the argument whether for or against and evidence presented therein. Individual motives, attitudes and preferences have had significant impacts on both faith and religion. It is important to note that there exist different religions in the world that are based on the different understanding of faith across these religions. Faith in world religions is therefore a critical issue to consider in assessing and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of using faith as a basis for knowledge in religion (Steup, 2001, p.47). Faith is defined as a conclusive belief that is not necessarily backed up by adequate evidence (Conee, 2004, p. 133). Provision of efficient evidence to a given scenario or phenomenon constitutes an explaining reason, and therefore faith is ruled out at that instance. Inadequate reason is the principle defining factor of faith. The strengths of faith in constituting knowledge in religion are discussed below: Faith is defined by individual preferences and attitudes, thereby building a specific religion in that process. Faith as aforementioned is not backed up by evidence but it is fundamentally a determinant of the many religions in the world. In the view of using faith as a basis for knowledge, decisions can be made on what constitutes knowledge in the context of faith. Since faith is already a conclusive belief, proof of faith is not a requirement in defining the resultant knowledge. Faith makes truth assertions without prior proof. In fact there are closely related sources of knowledge like mathematics and theology that makes similar assertions backed up by no proof. Reliance on leaps of faith therefore provides a strong basis for knowledge especially in religion, because religion is directly linked to faith