Skepticism in the Movie, Dark City

2134 Words5 Pages

Skepticism
Skepticism is one of the major themes in the movie Dark City. Among the skeptical thoughts observed, four of them are especially significant. They include Allegory of the Cave, Descartes’ evil genius argument, omphalos hypothesis and simulation hypothesis.
1. Allegory of the Cave
Dark City is a perfect illustration of the Allegory of the Cave, which is presented by Plato in the form of dialogues between Socrates and Glaucon. By comparing humans to prisoners in a cave, Plato argues that what we see are shadows projected on the wall, only that we mistake them for real knowledge which are named “forms”.
In the movie, the city is the cave in which citizens are trapped. Most of them have never left or even thought of leaving the place because they do not realize that they are imprisoned. Only have they left the city, can they see the real objects, so the citizens are ignorant about their situations. Moreover, even though they wish to leave, they may not be able to. Detective Walenski tells John that he has once thought of leaving the city, but it is impossible because the city is a cave confining the residents.
As John Murdoch escapes from the city with the help of Dr. Schreber, just as Glaucon discovers the truth after Socrates has explained to him, he is able to gain knowledge of the things around him.
2. Descartes’s Evil Genius Argument
Descartes’s evil genius argument hypothesizes that an all-powerful demon misleads our perception, so that our knowledge through reason or sense are unreliable. This hypothesis is substantialized in Dark City, where the Strangers are the evil demons who control their subjects’ minds. This is done by injection which produces the illusion of fake experiences.
The point is, many of the reside...

... middle of paper ...

... have the tendency to behave in the way that they can obtain their best interest.
For moral subjectivism, we can determine whether the behavior is moral or not according to our moral standard. When we at risk, like the strangers are facing the danger of extinction. We should find some solutions to overcome the danger. But it does not mean that we can do something evil to others. If we take others as samples, we are putting them at risk as well. If we really success in saving our lives by using others as samples, we are just shifting the problem to others but not solving it. It is meaningless and immoral to do that.
As a result, it is immoral even though we want to protect our own is a natural behavior. Only concern on our own interest is very selfish. Egoism may suggest a way for us to protect our own interest but it is not the best way for people to behave.

Show More
Related

  • Justice and Moderation of the Soul in The Republic, by Plato

    3023 Words  | 7 Pages

    Socrates now introduces a new method with use of imagery. He mentions a city and all that's within a city, to be applied in reference to the human soul. There are three cities he speaks of the city of necessity, the city of luxury, and the feverish city. The city of necessity only includes items, such as food, shelter and clothing, needed for survival as well as laborers to provide them. Soon, the laborers begin to expand necessity to comfort, thus forming th...

    Read More

  • Devil In The White City

    2299 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...gic of Chicago, but also the darkening madness of H.H. Holmes. This analysis of the book covers the city of Chicago being “the Black City,” before it hosted the World’s fair. Secondly, the glorious magic of Daniel Burnham did make this fair possible who all of his men that he worked with. Next, the city of Chicago when the fair was going on was a grand sight that people around the world would remember in history. Also, the unfortunate sight of the crimes and evil intention of H.H. Holmes had committed, that does put a black eye upon the fair. Finally, The Fair and how it has related to the historical trends of nineteenth century America. The Devil in the White City is an important novel that does tell of a great historical fair and a crime that has happened within the city of Chicago, the events there during that time period would be an important part in history.

    Read More

  • Philosophical Principals Exemplified in The Truman Show and in the Allegory of the Cave

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to understand the moral fabric of the world, it is important to question any information that is given to an individual, instead of blindly accepting the majority opinion and giving it full credibility and validity based on other people’s opinions. Plato’s work, The Republic introduces the allegory of the cave, which is metaphorical scenario that attempts to explain the importance of questioning norms that may seem trivial. Plato illustrates a cave where bounded prisoners have lived all their lives in seclusion, away from the outside world. In their immobile state, they can only look at the wall in front of them which is illuminated by a small fire that has been going on behind them. The wall constantly projects shadows of people passing by outside the cave going about their daily lives. The prisoners have never seen anything else, and they have never experienced the outside world, so they are content in what they have. Plato then, poses a problem of one prisoner escaping, and he analyzes and hypothesises what the initial reaction of the escaped man would be. The first thing the prisoner would experience would be blindness, ironically from the overwhelming exposure to light as he steps out from the cave. Soon, he will begin to realize his ignorance as he sees that the shadows he had seen all his life were actually real people. Plato concludes that his idea of the perfect life inside the cave was ill conceived and that the prisoner would have never been aware of the world outside, had he not escaped. Similarly, The Truman Show, directed by Peter Weir, follows the life of a man in the utopian town of Seahaven. What the protagonist isn’t aware of however is that his entire life has been broadcasted throughout the world; as a...

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ rotates around the notion of our vision as humans being limited, and only being exposed to a certain extent of knowledge within our surroundings. The Allegory of the Cave presented a rare case where prisoners were trapped in a cave for all their lives with hands, neck and feet bound to look at a wall with shadows beings casted by a fire that lies behind them. Once a prisoner breaks free of the binds, his curiosity allows him to follow the light that then exposes him to the real world where he is blinded by the sun. Each of the elements in the allegory are symbols that can be related to modern day situations as metaphors. Though society has evolved drastically, many struggles that we face today resemble the allegory.

    Read More

  • Plato and Bacon

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both authors make a point of showing the narrow-mindedness of humans by nature. In “Allegory of the Cave”, the prisoners believed that the shadows they were seeing were reality, with nothing more to it. The comfort of the said perceived, and therefore the fear of the unrecognized outside world would end in the prisoner being forced to climb the steep ascent of the cave and step outside int...

    Read More

  • When Light Pierced the Darkness by Nechama Tec

    3069 Words  | 7 Pages

    ... were outsiders may have contributed to their selfish, cowardly behavior. Thus, it is the individual who demonstrates a high degree of independence, a strong sense of duty where charity is concerned, and an ability to value every human life regardless of religion or ethnicity that will be most likely to selflessly aid people in distress. Conversely, it is the individual that lacks the aforementioned traits, who will be the least effective in assisting those in need.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Ethical Egoism

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethical Egoism A rear assumption is that the needs and happiness of other people will always affect our moral ethics. If we accept this assumption, we think that our moral ethics balance our self-interest against that of others. It is true, that “What is morally right or wrong depends not only on how it makes us feel, but also how it affects others”. The idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively to do in his lifetime for others is known as Ethical Egoism.

    Read More

  • Exploring Change in The Allegory of the Cave, and The Myth of Sisyphus

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Allegory of the Cave is a parable that demonstrates how humans are afraid of change and what they do not know.  In this work, Plato suggests a situation in which men are living in an underground cave.  The one entrance is located near the top and there, a burning fire casts shadow.  The men of the cave are chained so that they can only see the wall and cannot turn around.  When objects pass by it creates a shadow on the wall.  The shadows are the only thing they can see and therefore is the only thing they know to exist (747).  Somehow one of them gets loose and wanders outside the cave (748).  When he gets out, he is astonished at what he finds.  He comes back in to tell the others about what he saw.  The other men think he is mad and plot to kill him (749).  This illustrates how fear, inherent in the primitive nature of man, only serves to promote his ignorance.

    Read More

  • The Allegory of the Cave

    1971 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Allegory of the Cave has many applications to both Plato’s writing and life in general. It describes the education of a philosopher, as well as how others look on the philosopher after he has gained the knowledge of the Forms. It also describes what it is like to see the forms. After understanding the forms, what once were objects, real things, become merely shadows. One sees everything as it truly exists, as it’s form.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Plato's Allegory Of The Cave And The Confessions

    1689 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato’s, Allegory of The Cave, is a dialogue between his teacher, Socrates, and his brother, Glaucon, where Socrates dissects what is required to have a good life. During this dialogue Socrates illustrates a scenario where humans grow up in cave deep in the ground, strapped down like prisoners so that they can only face the wall front of them. On this wall there are shadows being casted

    Read More

  • Comparing the Search in Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio

    1551 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson has many themes that present themselves throughout the book. One such recurring theme is a search for truth. The characters in the book do not fully realize that they are searching for truth, but they do feel a vague, "indescribable thing" that pushes and prods their minds to actualize a higher plane of thought. This search for a higher plane by the characters of Winesburg nearly parallels another literary work of ancient Greek origin- Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," which is a portion of his famous writing "The Republic." I contend that the town of Winesburg is the equivalent of the Cave in Plato's writing.

    Read More

  • Plato's The Allegory Of The Cave And Cogito Ergo Sum

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    Is it possible for human beings to rise above the sensory interpretation about the world and become an intellectual? Both Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” and René Descartes’ “Cogito, Ergo Sum” examine this issue, and come to the conclusion that it is possible, and from this ascent, to become certain and rational. For each author, though, this is accomplished in different ways. Plato’s allegory points out that we need to look beyond the surface of the knowledge we learn and let the idea of good be our basis in life. Descartes expresses that we need to eliminate doubt in order for us to know certainty and feel comfortable in our knowledge.

    Read More

  • Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan and the Fundamental Principle of a Society

    2500 Words  | 5 Pages

    have regard for another man’s well-being. Just like the duty to self-preservation, this principle may

    Read More

  • The Objectivity and Rationality of Morality

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    it is either based on self interest or because one is bound to do so

    Read More

  • Philosophy CPT: “The unexamined life is not worth living”

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    Plato, a student of Socrates, in his book “The Republic” wrote an allegory known as “Plato's Cave”. In Plato's allegory humans are trapped within a dark cave where they can only catch glimpses of the world above through shadows on the wall.2 Plato is describing how the typical human is. They have little knowledge and what they think they know has very little basis in fact. He describes these people as prisoners, in his allegory, and they are only free when they gain knowledge of the world above the cave.

    Read More

More about Skepticism in the Movie, Dark City

Open Document