Philosophical Film Clips

The Fifth Element

Zorg explains ethical egoism



The Matrix

Morpheus explains representative realism.




The Matrix Reloaded

The Merovingian explains determinism




Perception in The Darkest Hour

This clip goes to some trouble to show the world from the point of view of an invisible alien lifeform. It then fails to show the world as real human beings see it.



When you look at the world with your head upside down the world does not appear upside down. This is a major clue that our brains process our visual inputs before we get to 'see' them.


Mr Nobody

The phenomenon of the supersticious pigeon occurs when coincidence is mistaken for causality.


Blade Runner

In this scene Deckard tells Rachael, who is thinks that she is a human being, that her memories are false.

The fact that Deckard has access to memories that Rachael never shared suggests that he is speaking the truth, but imagine this scene from Rachel's point of view. How can you possibly doubt your own memories?