Am I dreaming? The Matrix and Perceptions of Consciousness

While usually remembered for its groundbreaking use of slow-motion and particularly agile characters, the Matrix (1999) delves into a strain of philosophical thought that dates back far before the days of film and bullets.

Based on the premise that the “everyday life” that the average person experiences is merely a virtual reality façade put on by a domineering race of cyborgs in order to use humans as energy sources, the Matrix brings questions of the “realness” of reality into the spotlight. Being that the human race’s only conception of the world is based on their senses, they have no ability to perceive the fact that their reality is merely an illusion and that the actual world is a far different place. This concept has parallels with Descartes’ Second Meditation, a work in which he raises suspicions that “there is a certain genius which is extremely powerly, and, if I may say so, malicious, who employs all his powers in deceiving me?” (134) Such a sentiment is disturbingly close to the plot of the Matrix, so much so that one wonders if the writers of the movie were well versed in Descartes’ work previous to the writing of the script.

By this premise, Descartes goes on to point out that nothing at all can be understood by imagination alone, as doing so would be equivalent to sleeping in hopes that a dream would offer more clarity than a part of reality that is difficult to see clearly. Interestingly, the main character of the Matrix, Neo, often wonders if he’s dreaming or awake, and the movie itself often uses the analogy of sleep vs. dreaming to describe the relationship between the false virtual reality humans believe to be true and the actual reality of their psychological imprisonment.

Also present in the Matrix are ideas that draw similarities to the work of John Locke, Of Identity and Diversity. In his writing, Locke raises the point that humans, as much as they claim they can through divine visions and religious texts and the like, cannot perceive a pre/afterlife outside the one they currently exist in. While the afterlife is usually perceived as very different than the outer reality portrayed in the Matrix, the central concept of an existence outside our perception is the same. Locke’s works continues to outline the idea that if we regard the idea of an afterlife/outer existence, then it follows that one’s personal identity must extend farther than the consciousness itself. Indeed, this idea holds true in the Matrix, seeing that when Neo finally “escapes” his psychological bonds he is still very much himself and even has the same (albeit, weaker) body. His memories, consciousness, and general personality remains the same, thus preserving Locke’s idea that the one’s current idea of self may in fact just be a facet of a larger “self” that exists in a plane unknowable in our present state of existence.

One could make the argument that Locke’s idea of a person having “distinct, incommunicable consciousness at different times” (199) could apply to the Matrix in that the consciousness one has while living in their fake, created reality cannot usually communicate with the consciousness one has while acting as an energy source in the “real” world. Locke argues that even if a person did experience a “split consciousness” like this, (whether from experiences of drinking/drugs, amnesia, or alternate realities) that they would still have the same “personal identity” and still be the same being. However, while Neo is still the same person whether he is experiencing the virtual reality of the “Matrix” or the actual world, generally his would-be second consciousness lies dormant as an energy source and therefore cannot really be considered a separate consciousness. Also, once Neo “wakes up” into the actual world, he still maintains his memories of his past experiences in the Matrix, thus contradicting Locke’s idea of “incommunicable consciousness.”

In an interesting side note, David Hume brings up an interesting notion when he writes in “On the Immortality of the Soul” that “nothing can be decided a priori concerning any cause or effect” (229). Essentially, the idea he is describing relates to “Occasionalism”, a concept present in Cartesian Metaphysics. Occasionalism is the idea that cause and effect are merely illusions and in fact every action and apparent reaction are caused by God, not by a chain of events. In the Matrix, the all-powerful “God-figure” is replaced by the oppression of the race of beings that oppresses the humans. The apparent “cause and effect”, and in fact all matter, present in the virtual world of the Matrix is an illusion that only seems to make sense and follow an existing set of physical laws. Once this fact has been realized, it’s of little trouble for Neo and his rebel followers to defy the laws of physics in this simulated world (cue slow-motion sequence).

If you like guns, conspiracy theories, and a healthy dose of Keanu Reeves, check this film out.