Like a Splinter in Your Mind – The Philosophy Behind the Matrix Trilogy

It's the questions that drive us.

• What is real?
• How do you know what is real?
• Can we be certain that we are not in a Matrix ourselves?
• Does free will exist inside the Matrix? Does it exist outside the Matrix?
• Are our minds just our brains?
• Are sentient machines possible?
• Is it ever best to take the blue pill?

It's the questions that brought you here.

The Matrix films are not just about Kung Fu and special effects. Rather, they are about knowledge, reality, consciousness, freedom, fate, foreknowledge, good, evil, faith, enlightenment, and the very meaning of existence. In short, they are about philosophy - with some impressive special effects on the side.

Like a Splinter in Your Mind guides you through thirteen of the core philosophical questions that are explored in the Matrix films. You will see how Morpheus manifests Kierkegaard's philosophy of faith, how Neo, the Merovingian, and Ghost exemplify the three major positions on free will, how the objectivity of value judgments are challenged by Agent Smith, and much more.

Matt Lawrence brings a philosopher's insight to all three of the Matrix films, giving us a better appreciation of the trilogy, and a solid grasp of key issues in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, race and gender, existentialism, Taoism and mysticism. And while his focus is squarely on the films, he also shows us how these questions relate to our own lives and our own philosophical journeys.