Joseph Jordan E.
Jimenez
AB Philosophy I
Reflection on “The Matrix”
(A Metaphysical View)
The argument about “what is reality” revolves around the movie The Matrix (1999).
The question of our existence, our free will, and the presence of a godlike being. The
“Matrix” is the simulation the whole world, or perhaps even, the whole universe. We can
say that it is the simulation of reality.
This is my view: there are two realities shown in the movie – the simulation “Matrix”,
and the “real” world. Everything that a person discovers inside the simulation is the reality
of the simulation. All that is discovered outside the simulation is the reality of the outside
world. We can't truly say the Matrix is a simulation of the “real” world because the world
outside the Matrix could be also be a simulation of another world, then that of another
world, and so on. But let's just say outside the Matrix is already the real world. I’ve learned
that everything that exists is being, real or imaginary. So, even if the simulation is only
happening in the mind, everything still exists. Even when the Matrix is just a simulation, it is
still a reality that exists, though, a fake reality. For example, the existence of people having
superhuman abilities is a reality made in the Matrix, and that knowledge would be accepted
by the people inside as the real reality, but for the people outside, it is a fabricated reality.
A human mind can't comprehend the vast reality. In order to comprehend the whole
of the vast reality, the being must be outside that reality. In our case, God is this Being,
though He is the reality. In the movie’s case, all the characters that is out of the simulation
are these beings. The unsuspecting people in the Matrix can't comprehend the whole of
their reality, only those who are outside. Though they can get in and out the Matrix, they
are still powerless inside the simulation. They are still under the god of that reality
whenever they're inside. The “Matrix” is the reality, and therefore could be considered as
the god – applying the argument that a god of a reality is that reality. And so, what Neo, the
protagonist, and his group of rebels are doing, is going against a god. To kill the god of that
reality to free humanity from years of slavery to the machines.
Slavery undermines the free will of the people. In the movie, although it seems the
people are given free will in the simulation, they are not truly free. In their real world, they
are used as tools – a source of power for the machines. And when they try go beyond their
limits, they are stopped by the agents of the Matrix. The people are still constrained at a
certain point. Free will with someone controlling over it isn't free will.
Topics of existentialism and essentialism are also noticeable in the movie. Neo and
his companions went to the Oracle to know their purpose or, so to say, their predetermined
role . Neo was told he wasn't “The One” and that he was just an ordinary person incapable
of going against the Matrix and save humanity. To be, or not to be. He had a choice and
used his free will to become the one. This segment encourages us to take an active role in
shaping our own destiny and to resist systems of control that seek to limit our potential.
All in all, the movie “The Matrix” is telling us that what we see as reality may not be
what it seems. That the “facts” we know now may not be real and is only accepted as facts
because of the social norms. And that our perception of reality is influenced by the
information we get outside. The movie encourages us to question the nature of reality and
to think critically about our beliefs and perceptions of the world. To question whether what
we perceive as reality is actually real and to consider the possibility that there may be
deeper, hidden layers of existence beyond our current understanding. To penetrate our
minds and go beyond what is thought to be the limit.
