The Philosophy of Star Wars

and The Matrix

What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is all about thinking
and both Star Wars and The
Matrix provide many
opportunities for us to think
philosophically, from the ethics
of cloning, to the nature of
reality itself. Both films allow
us to go beyond the brilliant
action scenes, in order to raise
awareness of ourselves and
the universe we are part of.
What is Philosophy?
Socrates once said,

The unexamined life is not
worth living.

Socrates meant that at some
point everyone has to work
out for themselves what
they believe about life.
What is Philosophy?
Part of being a philosopher
means never holding a
belief as so sacred that we
are never, ever willing to
doubt it or laugh at it. In
other words, we need a
healthy dose of skepticism
about any belief, and this is
one of the important lessons
that The matrix, along with
philosophy, teaches us.
The Big questions
There are a number of Big Questions that
most people ask at some point about life:

Is there a God?
What is the meaning of life?
What happens after I die?
Why am I here?
Why is the world so evil?
The answer?
These questions have been asked as long
as people have existed and the most
common answer has had something to do
with the existence
of a Higher Power -
God.
Some big truth claims
Most religions make
the same big
claims:

There is a God
God made the
universe
When we die,
there is life after
death
Miracles really do
happen

Is it true?
As philosophers we need to look at these
truth claims and ask the following
questions:
Is there good evidence to back up this
claim?
Is this evidence convincing?
Are the reasons to believe in this claim
logical and justified?
The word philosophy is
Greek and literally
means the love of
wisdom.

The hope is, that after
studying philosophy,
you will indeed have
learned something
and become a little
wiser about life.
Task 1: In groups complete the belief sheet.
Belief
agree disagree unsure Most people in the
group
One point to support a reason for and
against this belief.
There is no such
thing as evil
Agree Disagree
Unsure
Humans are not
different to
animals
Agree Disagree
Unsure
Plants have feelings
Agree Disagree
Unsure
Numbers dont
exist when we
are not using
them
Agree Disagree
Unsure
It is never good to
lie
Agree Disagree
Unsure
Our souls last
forever
Agree Disagree
Unsure
Knowledge is more
important than
being happy
Agree Disagree
Unsure