Reality, Identity,and the Matrix

The Matrix contains within it, if you can look pass the buildings exploding and Neo dodging bullets, many important questions about how we view reality and identity. Most of this idea comes from the basic premise of the movie, that the world around us is not “real”. For those who have not watched the movie, the world of the Matrix, the one that everyone thinks is the actual world, is actually a computer program where humans live out their lives circa the 1990s. Back on the world, the time is actual two hundred years later and humans are being harvested by aliens for their body heat. To keep them complacent and unaware, they are connected to the Matrix from birth, unknowledgeable of what is actual going on around them.

            The first question the movie raises is the same one that Descartes raises on his quest for doubt. Is the world around us real? It seems we can never have any sure proof, which is why Descartes’ essay still remains a work of inquiry and speculation today. As Morpheus points out in the movie, sometimes we have dreams that seem as real as our waking moments. This brings in ideas on of multiple universes and other intriguing speculation. “Reality” itself seems a tenuous idea. Science fiction stories love to play with this idea. Perhaps it is because so much of reality seems constructed and deterministic, like an inescapable computer program. We feel we have little control over our reality and wish to be like Neo, someone who finds a different reality.

           But in The Matrix that reality is not better that the constructed, computer controlled world. In fact my question, along with Cypher (the villain), is this: is the Matrix more real? In that iconic scene where Neo is offered the blue or red pill, deciding whether to stay blissfully ignorant (blue) or gain knowledge (red), which is the better choice? Cypher is a negative character because of his betrayal of his crew but the questions he raises are legitimate. Granted the choice between a harsh reality or blissful ignorance in a happier place, which would you choose? The saying “ignorance is bliss” exists for a reason. However we naturally lean to reality for some reason, scoffing at willful ignorance, because as humans we seem to desire the “real” and are constantly curious for knowledge and information. But if we substituted the Matrix, life as we know it, for a virtual reality where pain and suffering could be programmed out, the decision between the red and blue pill becomes an extremely challenging problem. It seems clear that if the virtual reality choice would makes us happier it should at least be a legitimate option. 

          John Locke, in his essay “Of Identity and Diversity”, argues that consciousness exists independent of any particular subject, such as the body. “Upon the separation of this little finger, should this consciousness go along with the little Finger, and leave the rest of the Body, ‘tis evident the little Finger would be the Person”. Going along with this argument, the Matrix is as real as the reality that Morpheus and his crew are in. Sure everyone who exists in the Matrix may have their actual bodies reside elsewhere, but their consciousness, their being, exists in the Matrix. Instead of residing in their little finger, the person is his virtual existence. Cypher certainly believes his consciousness will not lose anything by being in the virtual world. This gives credence to questions that on the surface seem absolutely ridiculous, like what if our “real” lives are the ones in our dreams? In any case, it makes the choice of living in an alternate reality an even more appealing one, if we can reason that our “selves” and consciousness would go along with us, only leaving a limited body behind. 

             All in all The Matrix raises many questions, delving deep into reality, selfhood, and deterministic ideas. But that iconic choice, between the red and blue pill, may not be as easy at seems. Even Morpheus seems to make this case, that each reality is legitimate, when answering Neo’s question of is their simulated program real. His answer merely states that reality is electrical signals interpreted by your brain. I think from these points it would be easy to argue that the simulated reality, the Matrix itself, is more real than the so called “real” world. First, you could go on and even question that reality. The Matrix certainly has more shared more consciousness than the actual world and given the choice, many people would choose that reality over living on a decimated earth with little chance of survival.