For many the term ”film” let alone “Hollywood film” can be uttered in the same breath as philosophy (the only instances I can think of right now are Mishima, Death in Venice and Performance - three films conspicuously missing from a list of ostensibly philosophical films: I have mentioned elsewhere that what was passes for philosophy is contentious). Anyway, there is a film that has attracted some of the finest philosophical minds around – notably Dave Chalmers, Andy Clark, Hubert Dreyfus, Colin McGinn and James Pryor – the film is The Matrix. For those who haven’t come across this before, Philosophy and The Matrix offers a wonderful “way in” for the novice to philosophy of mind and perhaps philosophy at large. Each of the aforementioned philosophers (and others including Kevin Warwick to whom I referred to in a recent posting) contribute essays punctured with video clips from the film. The discussion covers many of the issues central to current philosophy of mind and cognitive science and is available in book form reviewed here.

Click here for the Philosophy and The Matrix website