love is one of the biggest issues dealt with in the matrix trilogy. love is also one of the key virtues that is needed to progress in Plato's view of the world. the interconnected nature of man is a principle that is accentuated by the fact that love is a necessary human virtue to have in order to make an impact on others and this world. Neo used love as a tool to motivate his actions and it was love that was the difference between him and his predecessors and what makes the journey to fulfill his purpose successful. without love the human resistance to the machines would never have been able ot work and the humans would have been wiped out. love is used as an inspiration point for neo's actions and the lives saved by many people.

Ancient philosophers had an incredible influence on their societies that can only be paralleled to religion's influence or the scientific influence today. In the days where people were taught by philosophers like socrates and aristotle their beliefs were what drove the educational ways and what people knew and leaerned to be the good. the role of religion in the ancinet greek society was not near as invasive as modern religious teachings. I guess it's more of the fact that the greek gods did not have teachings only perceived influence on nature and the orgin of the world. in modern times people looks to religions to answer the old philosophical questions from old writings by the founders of each religion. but now the ideas are turning to be older and the only people who have influence on followers of the religion are the interpreters of the ancient teachings. the answer to the good life is as simple as being commited to a lifestyle and belief system. Is this a progression of ideas towards a better and more meaningful life? I believe that Socrates would disagree as there is not a quest for knowledge and wisdom in the majority of the modern religious ideas. the principle idea of divinity for socrates was that only through logic and the pursuit of knowledge will we ever know what the divine is, and this is the sort of thinking that promotes finding truth and true wisdom in this lifetime.

what would socrates think about the way that people are treating the world today? the way socrates wanted people to think was thinking critically of the decisions of the mainstream world. now people are creating harmful actions to the world, like create pollution and spill oil in the ocean, and its treated as something that is acceptable to society. the earth itself was something that the greeks appreciated and treated it with a sense of divine care as it was a product of the gods. would socrates, someone who died for his beliefs as opposed to leave his beloved city, condone burning coal and polluting the earth at our own whim? i would like to believe it would be something that he would detest and if it would any way harm the greater city it would be disgraceful to socrates. bringing up some sort of future decay in a point about socrates may be outlandish but the idea remains of what the ancients believed the earth to be and what kind of esteem they held their cities is something that is not as present in today's world.

Why have so many philosophers since the days of the ancient Greek philosophers not had a lot to say about the nature of being? Is it the idea that so much more a focus has been placed on the actual actions and life of an individual as opposed to the nature of reality? Even before postmodernism opened up the doors for complete moral relativism and subjectivity, the world of philosophy was unfocused on the escaping idea of what is truly underneath our perceptions. The rise of science has had a large influence on what people believe and the desire for people to look past the knowledge that is given to them and wonder what exactly we can know for sure. Some on the ancient Greeks contemplated things about the world that were not proven for over two thousand years, like the idea of tiny elements that made up the world that were called atoms by people like Democritus. Ideas like this are no longer really found except for people who are on the cutting edge of research of science. The world has been deconstructed by the scientists and people who were once seen as the great minds of their time, like the ancient Greeks, are now looked down upon and the mysteries that they once uncovered and wondered about are swept aside by computers and people who no longer care about the underlying reality of the world we live in.

How does philosophy run through your mind on a daily basis? Is it something that you think about when you make decisions? Is it a tool to finding meaning and worth to your life? Without it can one really live a happy and fullfilled life? To me philosophy is something that takes form in a way that shapes the way I think about what is important to me and how I want to make my life. Also it helps change the way that I go about doing everyday actions at times, like walking down the street listening to my ipod, and how the little things can help make the world more beautiful and enjoyable. Part of using philosophy as a tool to find truth is the basic use of the mindset of an aware person and participant in this world. The world is full of people who have their own way of looking at the world and finding one's own path through all of that is what makes using philosophy beneficial as to not get sucked up in others' viewpoints. Being able to see what people think and use that as a foundation to pick my own path is part of why philosophy is part of my life and knowing that many others have walked this earth and put their ideas onto paper is a great part of trying to understand what great people have thought about and tried to do and all I can do is try my best to make something out of the life i have been given by using my mind and imagination to create something beautiful to hold on to.

the nature of emotion

many philosphers make out life to be one of thought and intellect, but there is not as much focus of one's emotions. Emotions are what arguably drives the real forces of human nature, whether or not people agree with that it has merit. The drives may not be full of logic but when someone feels a deep desire of anger, greed, love the reaction is displayed and the action is committed. Humans have been driven by all sorts of emotions and whether or not it is the ideal "good" life that is desired by many of the ancient and modern philosophers it is the point that makes people unique. if people lived their lives based on logic then many people would not find joy or happiness other than in contemplation and idleness, part of what makes this world good is the fact that people can be expressed and in a sense felt by those around them. the interconnectedness of people to each other is part of the bond that makes emotions possible and integral to every type of action and feeling that it projects. being part of this world is something that philosophers do not generally hold in high praise but in doing that part of what it is to be human is rejected from that person.

One of the most interesting distinctions to me is the way that plato and aristotle differ on the means of achieving a good and aware life. plato focuses on the journey itself to awareness or an intellectual plateau. the act of asking oneself what to pursue in life is the point that plato harps on and challenges individuals to do in order to get something meaningfull out of life. aristotle wants action from people, and this action is what drives people to do things that are good and from that people see what is the good in people and this touches the divine. the method that aristotle uses appears to have an influence on the existentialist movement, which is incredible that such an old philosophy drove a major movement in the 19th and 20th century. both of these ways to the good life are usefull throughout history and even in the modern age and thats pretty dang cool.