The Truman Show and Cartesian Skepticism Thanusree, New Delhi
“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”- Rene Descartes
How do you know that you’re not dreaming of reading this article? Pinching yourself proves only your awakened existence which helps deduce that this is not a dream. Rene Descartes did quite the same.
Possibly the most enjoyable way to understand philosophy is by relating it to movies and the Truman Show is one such gem that harbours an interesting philosophical concept which I hope to unravel through this article. (I recommend watching the movie first to better appreciate the nuance of these ideas)
The movie follows Truman Burbank who lives in the small city of SeaHaven only to realise that his entire life is a carefully constructed lie, and what he believes to be his home is rather an enormous television set intricately designed to convince him of this 'illusionary reality'. Everything that happens in the set is controlled by a man named Christof who, with the help of 5000 tiny cameras on set, broadcasts Truman's entire fake real life to the rest of the world for entertainment as 'The Truman Show'. However, after 29 years Truman recognises the deception and is ultimately set free.
Truman’s story presents how we can so easily be mistaken in the beliefs we hold dearly true. We will never be able to discern what is actually true unless we start doubting our justified beliefs. In other words - be a skeptic. Cartesian Skepticism encourages precisely this idea of questioning the authenticity of our doxastic world. What if there is an evil genius like Christof (who Rene referred to as the Trickster-God) feeding and manipulating the world around us? If we can’t disprove his existence, can he be true? (I really hope not)
When Descartes realised that many of the things he used to believe in were false, he faced a similar quandary. What if some of the things he still believed in were not true and he just hadn't realised it yet? To find an answer to this question, Rene’s first step was to disbelieve everything. The only thought he could undeniably be convinced of was his existence as a thinking, living being. (Here lies the origin of the famous quote “I think, therefore I am.”) Descartes then began the process of believing only what he could prove indubitable.
Even in our movie Truman’s journey to the truth began by his skepticism of all but himself. Was his wife really his wife? Were his friends really his friends?
It was merely this spark of doubt that lifted the curtain on the illusion. Otherwise, he would have lived and died in the world of another’s making.
The Truman Show also underlines the themes of courage and strength. Truman’s act of willingly sacrificing a life offering the comfort of familiarity in pursuit of truth is worthy of applause. Like Truman Burbank we must step out of the shadow of ignorance and be brave enough to be a skeptic.
Other movies like The Matrix, Proof also derive their plots from Descartes' ideas. His theory helps us ask pertinent questions about the knowledge we possess and offers a path to uncover the truth. In this era that thrives on information, we ought not to be its passive consumers, but be skeptics to prevent falling into the abyss of falsification and delusions.
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