Would you knowingly choose to enter (or leave) the Matrix?
This is the question that our discussion section contemplated a couple weeks ago, as we considered Socrate's Allegory of the Cave. This concept was featured in a part of Plato's Republic that was assigned for homework. In his Allegory of the Cave, Socrates is describing a cave to a man named Glaucon. In this cave, prisoners are chained and can only look forward. They only see shadows of objects as opposed to the real objects, which are behind them. "Reality" is either behind them or outside of the cave but to these prisoners, who have never looked anywhere but forward, the shadows they see on the wall are "reality" to them--it's all they know. Socrates goes on to suggest that, if a prisoner is freed, he will not just leave on his own free will. The prisoner will remain seated, looking ahead like he always has done. If somebody were to drag the prisoner out of his cave and expose him to reality, however, he would be blinded by the "light" and must adjust to it. Furthermore, if this person returns to tell his former companions in the cave about the "real reality"/"the light", they won't believe him. They even will turn violent against him for tampering with their "reality."
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| An illustration of the cave |
In our discussion section, we were asked if we would consciously make a decision to live in a world that we knew was not "real." If I were to tell you that you could live in a fake world and that you could make it your ideal world (you could be better looking, but everything else is the same or junk food could be healthy and that's all you needed to eat, etc.) but once you entered, you would never know that it was not true reality--it would be indistinguishably and eternally real to you, like a dream--would you enter?
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| Does it matter that it isn't real, if it is all that has ever been (and could be all that ever will be) real to you? |
What if we reverse the process? What if I were to tell you that this world you experience is not real? The real world, however, is horrible and painful, but you have the opportunity to go back. Would you stay in the better world, knowing it is not real? If you were a prisoner in the cave, and somebody was able to expose you to the "real" reality, could you knowingly go back to the cave and to the reality of the shadows?
It is through this lens that I began to consider our most recent reading: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Discourse on Inequality". According to Rousseau, "the founder of civil society" is "the man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying This is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him." This, however, is in itself an oversimplification of things. To say that people are "simple enough to believe [this person]" is to say that these people are incapable of seeing the big picture--reality. This is to say that this person is smarter than the people that are "simple enough" to believe him, and that this is why he is able to mislead them.
Human beings, like the
prisoners in the metaphorical cave, all individually have the capacity to
"see" truth and reality, but only really can see part of a whole.
It's not that any one individual is only able to see something one way. This
person needs to either "turn his head" and expose himself to the
other parts, or be "steered" by another person (a gifted individual)
to the other ways of "seeing." The ability to know truth and exercise
prudence is inherently present in everybody, but must be honed or activated. However, they must be "steered," or persuaded.
Every free-thinking, rational person can see things in a number of ways but has "cave vision," limiting him or her to a certain sliver of the all-encompassing spectrum. In order to persuade someone to shift their "vision" to another part of the spectrum (i.e. change their preference or attitude) the persuader must remember that they are in the metaphorical cave, which limits their sight. It's not that people are ignorant (incapable of seeing the full spectrum). It would be a mistake to treat them this way if one's goal is to successfully persuade them. It is a mistake to think "if only they knew what I knew, then they'd see things my way." Herein lies the problem with the first man smart enough to convince the simple masses that Rousseau describes: this man is not able to trick the masses because they are simple and do not know what he knows, he is able to trick them by making them believe what he wants them to believe. Using the Allegory of the Cave, he is considering which way their "cave" is pointing (thus understanding where they can see) and leading them to a place from which they will see the part of reality that he wants them to see.
Even if Rousseau's first clever man was able to trick the simple masses into believing that the "piece of ground" was his, that would not be enough. Yes, they might truly believe that the ground is his and not theirs, but that would not stop them from asking why it is his and what if it was not his. He is only able to truly control the "piece of ground" if he is able to not only convince the simple people that it is his, but also to convince them that it should be his and that it is better for them if it is this way. To refer back to the Allegory of the Cave, again, this is the difference between being a prisoner convincing the other prisoners, and the puppeteer convincing the prisoners.
This brings me back to the original question: would you knowingly choose to enter (or leave) the Matrix? The part that interests me most is the option to leave. Would you leave a comfortable, easy and convenient world if you knew that the other reality was hard, dangerous and full of tribulation? Even if you found out that the other world was, truly, the real world?
What if you found out that your perception of reality is not entirely your own--that you were in a "Matrix" imposed on you by another entity. Would you get angry at this person for tampering with your "reality"? Would this anger be enough to get you to "turn your head"? Or would you keep living your "reality," allowing it to be "steered," because all that is truly "real" is what you perceive to be real? Even if you wanted to leave, would you be able to bring yourself to do it?
(Credits: The "Allegory of the Cave" picture at the top is from a google images search, which produced the image from a Theology Blog [http://theology12h.blogspot.com/], and is used under Fair Use for educational purposes. The video features artwork by Dick Oden and narration by Orson Welles in their rendition of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." The lower picture is called "Ultimate Reality and the Bubble of Being" and was illustrated by artist Jon Gemma.)
I really liked how you incorporated the Rousseau with the "Allegory of the Cave". I would personally not choose to leave the matrix. Maybe I'm just not courageous enough or lack the self-confidence of withstanding the shock. I think you made a great point when you said that it takes more than persuasion to keep the people in a particular system. The belief of choosing the better choice is extremely important because I think that is what drives people to really convince and devote themselves to a cause. I actually think that the society is somewhat created by another entity, rather than having my own perception. I think that no one has a clear perception of what real "reality" is. Reality is so subjective, in my opinion, to determine which point of view is the correct one.
ReplyDeleteReality is based on facts, that is true. But I think that concept of "reality" is so complex that one individual cannot fathom the entirety of it. Maybe I could be wrong, but that is my perception of reality.
Isn't our reality and its systems established because we believe that to be the superior choice? We are essentially doing what you said it takes. We are convinced that it is better for us, so we are just following the decision that was made.
I believe that if given the choice there would be very few, if any, who would leave the Matrix. If we think about different niches within the world we can clearly see why.
ReplyDeleteTake a small town farmer for example. He goes about his life each year, plating in the Spring and harvesting in the Fall, raising only what he needs to feed himself and his family. He is set in his ways and happy with his life. If someone attempted to introduce modern electronics and equipment to this farmer he would turn them away, as they are foreign to the him and go against his old fashion ways. Moreover, the farmer rejects the modern electronics and equipment, because they are not familiar to him, and defy everything he knows.
This example can be applied to larger concept of leaving or staying in the matrix, as people often do not like or accept ideas and concepts that are unfamiliar to them, and defy what they know. Thus, most people would choose to stay in the Matrix.