Johnson David Kyle(Editor) - Inception and philosophy because its never just a dream

CONTENTS

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

Series Editor: William Irwin

Copyright 2012 by John Wiley and Sons. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Inception and philosophy : because its never just a dream / edited by David Johnson.

p. cm. (The Blackwell philosophy and pop culture series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-07263-9 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-16889-9 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-16890-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-16891-2 (ebk.)

1. Inception (Motion picture) I. Johnson, David (David Kyle)

PN1997.2.I62I57 2012

791.43684dc23

2011028933

For Zorro, who kept me company through the entire editing process. There will never be a dog better than you. May you always live on in my dreams.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Dream Team

The dream that is this book would not be possible without a great many people. It is a shared dream.

I wish to thank the contributing authors for their tireless efforts and philosophical architecture. Like Ariadne, they designed the dreamI just filled it with my subconscious. Hopefully, it didnt turn on them too severely.

My thanks also go to Connie Santisteban, at John Wiley and Sons, for her hard work and dedication. Like Arthur, she makes sure everything runs smoothly. This shared dream wasnt possible without her. Likewise, I would like to thank all the folks at Wiley who work behind the scenes to make this series possible. They are the Saito to my Cobb; their giant bankroll made this book possible. If only I could get them to buy me an airline.

Last, I wish to thank my good friend and colleague William Irwin, for his patience, incredible feedback, and dedication to the cause. Im very glad, my friend, that we have the shared dream of incepting the public with knowledge of philosophy.

THE EDITORS TOTEM

An Elegant Solution for Keeping Track of Reality

I know, I know. An editors note. Who cares, right? Wrong! Dont skip it. This is important stuff. If you care about understanding Inception , and this book, youll want to hear me out.

Editing this book wasnt easy. Inception is so ambiguous, I had to worry about whether the contributing authors interpreted, and thus would speak about, the movie in the same way. One problem, in particular, kept popping up around every corner like Cobol agents in Mombasa. How much of Inception is a dream? Is the end a dream? Is everything after Yusufs basement a dream? Could the whole movie be a dream? If I wasnt careful, the book could have ended up looking like it was about two or three different movies.

So I came up with an elegant solution for keeping track of reality. Throughout the book, the authors refer to the world in which the inception is plannedthe world in which Mal jumps from the window, where Cobb is on the run, meets Ariadne, and doesnt wear his wedding ring anymoreas the real world . The italics are importantthey indicate a title, not a description. By the use of the italicized phrase, the authors will not assume that the real world actually is the real world (notice, no italics that time). That way, when we need to ignore the issue, we can; and when the issue is important, we can concentrate on it.

Now, thats all you need to know to start reading the book. But if you want to know why we cant just assume that the real world of Inception actually is real, and you want to gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the movie, continue reading.

How much of Inception is a dream? Most people think the answer lies in an event just beyond our reach. Does the top fall at the end of the movie after the screen cuts to black? If it does, then Cobb is awake; if it doesnt, then Cobb is still dreaming. A careful examination of the film, however, shows us that this is not the case.

First of all, Cobbs totem is extremely unreliable as a dream detector. Arthur specifically points out, when telling Ariadne about totems, that they work only to tell you that you are not in someone elses dream. So even if the top falls, Cobb could still be in his own dream. Totems have this weakness because, if the dreamer knows how the totem behaves in reality, the dreamer could dream that it behaves that way; and obviously the owner of a totem knows how it behaves in reality. This is why you dont want anyone else to touch your totem. If anyone gets a hint of how it is supposed to behave, they could dream that it behaves that way, and then your totem couldnt tell you that you are not in their dream world.