Saturday, May 24, 2003

I've not been living under a rock all these years, but I managed not to watch the original Matrix or the current sequel. However, I've noticed plenty of side-effects in what I read. Most of those rehash brains-in-vats and related tiresome philosophical puzzles, or the trite simile between wired brains and media-addled ones, but sometimes something deeper emerges. Wondering about what's wrong with the Matrix, Adam Gopnik comes up with an association with the Cathars and their belief that the material world was a Satanic illusion, and therefore killing Satanically illusory beings was morally justified. He goes on to say The notion that some human beings are not really human but, rather, mere slaves, nonhuman ciphers, and therefore expendable, is exactly the vision of the revolutionary hero — and also of the mass terrorist. The Matrix is where all violent fanatics insist they are living, even when they are not. This reminds me of two favorite cautionary books: Private Memories and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg. How an absolute belief in predestination dissolves all moral constraint, set in Scottish mists and gloom. Great temptation scene in Arthur's Seat. Norman Cohn's Pursuit of the Millenium, which I mentioned before. By rejecting the claims of visible reality in favor of the claims of a hidden world, these movies, as Star Wars, help undermine our commitments to liberal society and scientific inquiry. 8:27:19 PM