The philosophical concept of freedom is one that is much debated and controversial. Our ability to deliberate on our situations and make choices is part of what defines us as humans. A problem arises, however, when we consider the theory that everything is the universe has been predetermined. There are many philosophical doctrines that describe a variation of this concept that have been around since the beginning of philosophy. These ideas are reflected in The
Matrix: Reloaded through the idea of freedom and what exactly it means to be free. There are a few instances of important dialogue in the movie that illustrate the concept of free will, choice, and pre-determined paths.
The plot of the 2003 film The Matrix: Reloaded follows the main character
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The people who have been unplugged from the Matrix live in a community called Zion. Neo is “the One”, a savior who possesses powers that enabled him to disengage humanity from the Matrix. Freedom is an extremely important theme in the movie, and is the focus of many important pieces of dialogue.
However, it is also apparent that Neo had no choice in his role as “the One”, as he had always been destined for the task.
There is an important scene toward the end of the movie that involves a character called the Architect. He is the one who designed the Matrix and the programs inside of it. He explains to Neo that they are on the sixth iteration of the Matrix and that Neo is a mathematical anomaly.
The first version was perfect and failed catastrophically his subsequent creation was accepted by the humans in it as long as they felt like they had the choice. This is connected to an excerpt in the book on page 449 written by Daniel Dennett. He believes that determinism is fueled by
“bogeymen” and one that he writes about fits the role of the Architect. This “bogeyman” is called the Invisible Jailor, and Dennett writes that if a jail is concealed in a way that makes