Is the world around us truly as it appears or are we inert
bodies in tanks, our brains subjected to electronic stimulation
creating a make-believe world of hallucination? The Keanu Reeves
cult sci-fi movie, The Matrix, vividly conveyed the excitement and
the horror of a fake world made of nothing but perceptions,
substituting for a real world of grim despair. Since The Matrix is
probably the most overtly philosophical movie ever to have come out
of Hollywood it has popularised issues on which philosophers have a
lot to say. The Matrix and Philosophy is from the same team of
cool, capable, young philosophers who created The Simpsons and
Philosophy, which redefined the market for a work by serious
philosophers. It has 20 new, thoughtful essays on philosophical
problems raised by The Matrix, many of which focus on the issues
"Can we be sure the world is really there, and if not, what should
we do about it?" The book also explores other philosophical puzzles
including ethical ones like Cypher''s decision to choose a
pleasurable fake world over a wretched real one.