In this blog post, we’ll explore reality, virtual reality, and free will through the scene in ‘The Matrix’ where the protagonist must choose between the red pill and the blue pill.
Scenes from The Matrix and Popular Culture
Just as scenes of dodging bullets by leaning backward are often seen in cinematic direction, one scene from The Matrix left a deep impression on popular culture. Through its sci-fi elements, The Matrix presented not only action but also a fundamental worldview, causing a major sensation in the film industry at the time. At its core lies the shocking premise that the space we believe to be our daily reality may actually be a virtual construct, and that the world we perceive as real exists elsewhere.
In the film, Neo stands at a crossroads where his destiny hangs in the balance as he must choose between the red pill and the blue pill offered by Morpheus. He is promised that the red pill leads to a painful and harsh reality, while the blue pill leads to a comfortable virtual world, and the door of opportunity opens only once. If a moment like Neo’s were to come for us, where we must choose one of the two, what choice would we make? Before answering this question, we must first establish a few premises.
Prerequisites for Making a Choice
First, we must assume that the people living in the virtual world have their basic physiological needs met. Borrowing from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the existence of a virtual world implies that lower-level needs—such as survival and safety—must be satisfied to a certain degree. Furthermore, when needs are not met, people tend to become frustrated and regress to lower levels; repeated frustration drives them to escape that world and seek refuge in another.
Second, before choosing the pill, the true nature of the real world must be completely unknown. The reality depicted in the film is a world where a machine civilization controls humans by using them as a source of energy. If, before making a choice, one knew that machines ruled the world and humans lived while being hunted by them, most people would likely choose the comfortable virtual world.
Third, a person must belong to only one of the two worlds and cannot live in both simultaneously. In other words, the premise is an extreme condition: one must choose either the virtual or the real world and live as a part of that world.
Why I Would Choose the Red Pill
Given these premises, I would choose the red pill to escape the virtual world and emerge into true reality. Even though the virtual world may be more comfortable and convenient, it is nothing more than a false illusion. Within the Matrix, humans are defined as beings born solely for the machines and used for their benefit. The Matrix is a structure that obscures the true nature of the world as we have known it, and within it, we continue our lives based on artificially inputted information.
As Morpheus says in the movie, “They are not born, they are raised.” This expression emphasizes that people are placed in unwanted environments, living without even knowing what they truly desire, and are thus deprived of true free will.
Arguments for Choosing the Blue Pill and Counterarguments
One argument made by those who wish to choose the blue pill is that the inhabitants of the virtual world believe the world they live in is real and live without doubt. They can go wherever they want and eat whatever they want within the virtual world, and they feel they are exercising their own will. The argument is that if this perception exists, isn’t that a form of free will?
However, in ‘The Matrix’, Agent Smith freely enters the body of any human in the virtual world, causing the death of that body’s original owner. The fact that individual lives can be ruthlessly sacrificed to maintain the system demonstrates that the “freedom” in that world is actually subject to the control of the entire system. Furthermore, the virtual world is merely a tool for maintaining the machines, and if the machines no longer need it, the world itself could cease to exist. The film mentions that the current virtual world is the fifth version and that previous versions were eliminated due to problems. Viewed in this context, a situation where human rights to life have been ceded to an all-powerful machine can never be considered true free will.
The Importance of Distinguishing Between Reality and Virtuality
Those who choose the blue pill argue that believing in the world they live in without doubt is a prerequisite for happiness. On the other hand, those who have awakened find it difficult to accept any world as reality because they are constantly questioning, “Is this real?” in every world. While we primarily perceive reality through our senses, the possibility remains that our senses do not guarantee the truth. Therefore, a philosophical discussion on how to distinguish between reality and the virtual world becomes inevitable.
The question Descartes posed in the darkness is closely tied to this issue. “Do the things I see, hear, and touch actually exist? Could some evil spirit in my mind be deceiving me?” After endless doubt, Descartes reached the conclusion that while he could doubt everything else, he could not doubt his own “thinking self.” In other words, when seeking truth, what matters is not sensation but thought and reason.
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo to “wake up from the egg” and says this: “Take the blue pill, and the story ends here. You wake up in your bed and believe only what you want to believe.” Just as Neo ultimately sees through the illusion and is reborn as “The One,” we too can gain insight into the essence of things if we have the will. I believe that to gain such insight, we must choose the red pill, not the blue one.
