Blog Entry 16: The Matrix Possibility

David Mitsuo Nixon claims that it is possible that we all live in the Matrix. He goes on to explain that beliefs can be false and we can all be living in a false reality. Nixon says that we justify our knowledge and until we are not fully justified it won’t be knowledge, therefore false. I do not believe we can possible reside in the Matrix.

I would like to begin by saying that Nixon is presenting the probability of living in the Matrix not the possibility. He says “But not everything that is possible is something that we have good reasons to believe is actual.” (Pg. 32). Right from the start you can see there is no real chance we possibly live in false reality. The probability is also very low.

Writing this essay at this moment proves I am in the real world. If I were in the Matrix there is no way I could question it or write about it. I am acknowledging there is no possibility of a Matrix. It’s nonsense. There is no way to prove we are living in the Matrix. The beliefs I form are from the real world. The shape who I am and how I wiew the actual world I live in.

My beliefs are based on experiences. I know that some of my beliefs are true but some may be false. Knowing that I can question my beliefs proves I am not in the Matrix. I can decide at any moment to get up and search for it. The truth is I won’t find that I live in the Matrix. I have the power of thought and questioning.

Nixon mentions that false cannot exist without truth. The truth is there is not a possibility there is a Matrix. When we go about our daily lives we have the ability to think about anything we want. In our minds we are free to imagine any possibility but it will not transcend into reality, but at least we have the ability to think it.
Nixon states that in the Matrix the machines program us to believe things and not question it.I can at any moment decide I don’t believe something, which I do often. No one has that control over me. Without a doubt I have influences and my experiences but, no one is feeding me beliefs through plugs in my body. I live in the real world.

Nixon says, “We can only make sense of a person’s having false belief against a background of her having other beliefs we take to be true.” (Pg. 39). In other words a person can only say something is false if they have true beliefs to combat it with or compare. This isn’t true. I myself can say something is true to me without other beliefs backing it up. It’s called intuition. My feelings are real because I feel them.

My five senses hold the key to my reality. Nixon says “…the Matrix Possibility implies the following: It’s possible that a heck of a lot of my beliefs right now are false.” (Pg.29). I know that many of my beliefs are true and a minority are false or not yet fully developed. When I experience daily life it’s real and true. I can question and do things out of the ordinary if I choose to.

Nixon purposes a good argument but it’s obvious it’s not possible. Granted we may have false beliefs but not a “heck” of a lot of them to the point where we live in “The Matrix”. This life is as real as it gets. The possibility of us living in the Matrix is none.