Essay 3.2

"Source" and "ontological status," what do these two terms mean when refering to The Matrix? Why does Gracia and Sanford use them? During this essay I can give you the meanings to these two terms, quotes and reasons why they used these two terms to claim that the world in the Matrix is "unreal" and the world outside of the Matrix (outside of the program) is the "real world".

What they mean by the term "source" is that , they're talking about where did everything come from. Everything must have come from somewwhere, someone, or something. Things and people don't appear out of nowhere. On page 61, from The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real, Gracia and Sanford states, "We know that machines and electrical signals are produced by humans and by artificially intelligent machines. We know that human beings born in the city of Zion come from their parents. but we don't know the ultimate source for these things. That is, we are not told from where that matter comes from, which machines are made and humans are reproduced" Basically the term "source" has something to do with who made everything that the people see. There has to be a higher power that none of the machines and the people know about. This higher power is the "source" and he, she, or it is above all. Since the higher power is the "source," the "source" fuses into the term "ontological status".

What Gracia and Sanford mean by the term "ontological status, they're talking about the existence: one without the other. For example, in the movie The Matrix, Morpheus and Neo are talking about The Matrix, "Neo: I thought it wasn't real. Morpheus: Your mind makes it real. Neo: If you're killed in the matrix, you die here? Morpheus: The body cannot live without the mind." This is a good ontological status example, basically Morpheus is saying that your body depends on your mind whenever your in the matrix. If you die in the matrix your mind is gone then your body will not have its "source"(which is the mind) to live. An other example of ontological status is with The Matrix itself and the world outside of The Matrix. Sanford and Gracia states, from The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real, on pages 61-62, "The "real world" in The Matrix, as far as we can tell, does not depend on something else for its existence, it stands by itself..." The Matrix would not survive without the "real world". If the "real world" dies, The Matrix dies along with it. The Matrix depends on the 'real world" for it's survival. But the "real world doesn't depend on the Matrix for they're survival. They can live without the Matrix, so if the Matrix dies, the "real world" is safe.

These two terms depends on one another, they go together. Without one you can't have the other. The "source" is apart of "ontological status," the "source" or higher power doesn't need to depend on someone or something for its existence. But the people and things that the "source" created have to depend on him, her, or it for its existence. I agree with Gracia and Sanford's assessment, without the "real world" the Matrix wouldn't exist. Since I'm Catholic, I believe that God created us in his image. so without God creating us, I believe we or anything else wouldn't exist. We depend on God for our life. Its the same when we are born. Without our parents giving bight to us, we wouldn't be here. So God is our main "source" and our "sub-source" is our parents.