In this blog post, I will examine the relationship between virtual reality and reality as presented in ‘The Matrix’, and consider whether virtual reality could be superior to reality based on human senses, the value of life, social stability, costs, and potential for development.
Questions About Virtual Reality Raised by ‘The Matrix’
Released in 1999, just one year before the start of the 21st century, the movie ‘The Matrix’ was a massive success at the time and captivated audiences worldwide. ‘The Matrix’ generated as much buzz as it did box office revenue and spawned countless related books, movies, and animated works. Depicting humans raised in a new world created by machines, the film portrays humanity’s struggle to break free from machine domination. Among the many topics the film raised, the virtual space known as the Matrix posed numerous questions to audiences—both physically and philosophically—and many viewers likely pondered what choices they would make if they were in Neo’s shoes. Standing at this crossroads, and based on my own judgment and understanding of the film, I would like to recommend one choice to readers facing this decision.
The Matrix refers to a space where human consciousness exists, designed by artificial intelligence (AI). This space recreates a society from before machines came to dominate the world; in the future, humans are cultivated in artificial wombs under the control of machines, yet their consciousnesses live out everyday lives within the Matrix that are indistinguishable from those of today. Based on highly advanced technology, the Matrix virtually generates the five senses—sight, hearing, smell, and taste—that humans can perceive, providing a realistic virtual reality. By focusing on this fact, I aim to demonstrate that the distinction between virtual reality and reality may be meaningless. Whether in the real world or within the virtual reality of the Matrix, the human brain ultimately undergoes the same cognitive processes. As a result, human sensory perception can no longer guarantee the truth. Therefore, the two spaces cannot be distinguished by human senses alone. In other words, humans living within the Matrix lead lives that are indistinguishable from those of humans living in the real world today.
The Red Pill and the Blue Pill: Which Will You Choose?
Let’s assume, then, that the audience is given the opportunity to choose between two types of pills. They find themselves at a crossroads: should they preserve the lives they have led so far, or should they abandon everything to pursue the truth and boldly move toward the real reality? Since this is a choice about one’s own life, the most accurate answer would be that there is no single “correct” answer. However, based on the key criterion mentioned earlier—the homogeneity of sensory experience—we can offer the following suggestion.
As the film progresses past its midpoint, some viewers may begin to wonder: How does Neo, having swallowed the pill and entered the real world, come to recognize that this new world is real? The drastic changes in his surroundings and the various examples of virtual spaces shown by Morpheus help Neo realize that his previous life was a lie, but his sensory abilities remain unchanged.
Until Morpheus and his friends approached him, Neo did not deny reality. Of course, he did show some degree of skepticism early on, but it wasn’t enough to make him deny or turn away from the sense of reality he experienced. However, after taking the red pill from Morpheus, Neo gains the ability to deny his own senses. Once this happens, any normal person would constantly doubt their sensory perceptions. For Neo, who can no longer believe that the truth is the truth, the reality he entered by abandoning his former life can never be real.
Now, the red pill and the blue pill take on a significance that goes beyond simply representing truth and falsehood. In the long run, our choices boil down to whether or not we possess the ability to deny our own senses. It may be an exaggerated analogy, but the red pill in ‘The Matrix’ brings to mind the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil eaten by Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis of the Old Testament. The story of Adam and Eve—who, by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, came to know shame and were thus condemned to a life of constant awareness of their own inadequacies—overlaps with the story of Neo, who, by acquiring the ability to deny his own senses, chose a life of constant doubt and anguish.
Let’s imagine Neo returning to square one and choosing the blue pill. Neo would erase all memories of his strange experiences with Morpheus and wake up to greet a new morning as usual. He would likely never question the virtual reality of the Matrix for the rest of his life. Since the Matrix is a world that reflects his own thoughts and actions, from a personal perspective, it is a valuable existence that Neo finds harder to give up than anything else. To summarize the above discussion, we can conclude that it is more rational to take the blue pill and remain in the virtual reality of the Matrix than to choose the red pill and go to the real world.
Counterarguments Against the Choice to Remain in Virtual Reality
The argument presented above is open to two criticisms. First, there is the criticism that by settling into the virtual reality space, one turns a blind eye to the unknown reality—that is, the truth. This is based on the fundamental argument that humans should strive for greater values rather than pursuing personal comfort, and it represents an approach from a perspective different from the discussion so far. Just as in the movie, the protagonist’s heroic actions would be viewed positively by many people; however, the protagonist’s personal daily life—which is not depicted in the film—must be shouldered and managed by the individual themselves. The issue we wish to discuss here is what choice ordinary people should make when given the opportunity, in order to achieve the most desirable outcome for themselves. Ultimately, this means that the perspectives from which we approach the problem differ.
Next, let us consider the counterargument that even if settling into the Matrix is more comfortable, unless the ontological value of virtual reality is substantiated, one must choose the real world in the opposite situation—that is, when contemplating whether to choose the Matrix over reality. It is clear that a choice centered on the ability to deny one’s senses does not inherently involve a consideration of the characteristics inherent to each space. From this point forward, I will analyze the intrinsic value of virtual reality.
The Value of Virtual Reality: Greater Stability Than Reality
The first advantage of virtual reality over the real world is stability. Real-world society is constantly exposed to danger. Even setting aside unexpected natural disasters, the risks of war and riots expose those living in reality to unforeseen dangers. However, within the Matrix, a stable society can be realized where all social risks have been eliminated. Since citizens of the Matrix are protected from external dangers beyond their control, virtual reality spaces may be preferred over the real world from the perspective of safeguarding individual lives.
The Matrix also holds an advantage over the real world in terms of cost. In the real world, societal change requires significant time and expense. Even making minor changes to the infrastructure of a small city not only costs a tremendous amount of money but also takes a long time. In contrast, within the Matrix, society can be improved in an instant simply by changing a single line of code. Countless development plans that were hesitated upon in the real world due to the burden of cost and time can be readily implemented within the Matrix, and if the results turn out badly, it’s simply a matter of rolling back the changes. This means that if the state of society at a specific point in time is saved and it is later determined that the direction of change was wrong, one can return to that point and start over. The same applies to social development. The Matrix, which not only offers a cost advantage but also allows us to turn back time, enables us to experiment with various forms of progress and achieve rapid development.
Virtual Reality vs. Reality: Which World Will You Choose?
So far, we’ve explored the dilemma of choice that began with a scene from a movie and, starting from anticipated counterarguments, presented the aspects where virtual reality holds an advantage. Starting from the premise that the choice itself has the potential to cause confusion, I concluded the discussion by presenting the inherent advantages of the virtual reality world. From the perspective that choice can lead to confusion, if one must choose between two worlds that are perceptually indistinguishable, it is preferable to preserve the world one has lived in until now; from the perspective of an essential comparison between the two worlds, I demonstrated the superiority of the virtual reality world based on social stability, cost efficiency, and developmental advantages. Many people have analyzed the movie ‘The Matrix’ from various perspectives, and there has been extensive discussion regarding the dilemma between virtual reality and actual reality. I believe this analysis, presented from my own perspective, will assist readers in their decision-making process alongside the many existing discussions.
