If I had to choose my favorite movie, I wouldn't hesitate to pick The Matrix series that started in 1999 (although I do admit the fourth movie was⋯ you know).
Of course, I think the most impressive one was the first movie when it was released.
With its unique world view, spectacular special effects, and innovative fight choreography, it still doesn't feel outdated even after more than twenty years.
Whether you watch it as an action movie or from a philosophical perspective, you can enjoy it.
I even think that if you combine action and philosophy in the ratings, there still isn't a movie that can compare to it.
Here are some philosophical insights that came to me after watching the movie:
- What is “Me “? What is real?
The movie brings up a concept that's very relevant to physiology: everything you perceive and experience is just an electronic signal in your brain.
Morpheus: "What is real? How do you define 'real'? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain."
With this premise, many discussions can be extended.
For example, what is "me"?
Is my body "me"?
Are electronic signals "me"?
When stimuli are transmitted to the brain through electronic signals, what "thing" is accepting the final electronic signal?
If electronic signals are neutral, what "thing" has preferences, choices, or aversions towards them?
When you want to perform an action or even unconsciously maintain physiological functions such as heartbeat, breathing, and intestinal motility, what "thing" is driving the first electronic signal and causing a series of physiological actions?
Since everything is just a "signal," can you call the world you live in and your feelings "real"?
If the nature of a signal is constantly changing and short-lived, why is there a "strong delusion" of a "fixed and unchanging me"?
The concept of "I love you."
Is the concept of "I" real?
Is the idea and emotion of "love" real?
Is the existence of "you" real?
Is this "you" an objective existence, or is it the "you" that “I “ perceive in my world?
Interestingly, Neo finally sees through the world of the matrix made up of code, breaks the limitations of the matrix, and becomes The One.
This process is like that of many achievers in religion who see through the illusions of the world and produce various incredible abilities.
- What is "choice"; determinism, fatalism, free will
The plot of movies often touches on this question, either subtly or overtly.
For example, when Neo becomes The One, is it due to the setting of the matrix, the arrangement of fate, or his own choice?
After becoming The One, does his actions follow the preset plan of the matrix, the guide of Oracle or are they his own choices?
For other characters, whether human or part of the matrix system, their existence and actions are predetermined by the system, influenced by Oracle, or are they the result of their own choices?
The movie has a classic scene that explores this topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVF4kebiks4
Oracle : I'd ask you to sit down, but, you're not going to anyway. And don't worry about the vase.
Neo : What vase?
[Neo turns to look for a vase, and as he does, he knocks over a vase of flowers, which shatters on the floor]
Oracle : That vase.
Neo : I'm sorry...
Oracle : I said don't worry about it. I'll get one of my kids to fix it.
Neo : How did you know?
Oracle : Ohh, what's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?
There is a similar story in China.
Shao Yong, a master of Yi Jing （a traditional divination book in China) during the Northern Song Dynasty, divined with accuracy. One day, he divined for his own flower vase and concluded that it would shatter at noon on that day. Out of curiosity, he waited to see what would happen.
As the time approached, his wife called him to have lunch, but he ignored her.
In a fit of anger, his wife smashed the flower vase!
Was the shattering of the flower vase predetermined?
If Oracle didn't speak up and Shao Yong didn't divine, would the vase still have been broken?
Is one's destiny predetermined or determined by free will?
Is choice a result of true free will, a predetermined choice, or an illusion of choice in a predetermined context?
To choose, is free or not free?
Furthermore, is existence free or unfree?
(As Agent Smith said in The Matrix, "We're not here because we're free; we're here because we're not free.")
As for the decision to write this blog post and for you to be reading it now, was it a predetermined choice or one made by free will?
