This essay was originally written in 2016 for an Honors Seminar in Humanities at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

A CHOICE

In the spring of 1999, the major motion picture The Matrix captivated audiences with a simple yet thought provoking notion: What if our “reality” was only a simulation? Forced to consider a reality beyond what we know, this simple question ultimatley begets further questions. Does a second reality negate the importance or alter the meaning of our own? How can we be sure reality even is real?

In the film, an enlightened character, Morpheus, offers the protagonist, Neo, a choice of two different colored capsules: “You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.”¹ Which would you choose to take? Twentieth century British writers and thinkers G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis liked to think about these types of questions and ideas and explore possible answers in their writing.

Lewis once said, and later transcribed in his book Mere Christianity, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”² Lewis enjoyed creating new worlds and showcased them in his novels. The world of Narnia and the foreign planets in The Space Trilogy, are two notable examples. He used these worlds as stand-ins for our own where different aspects of our reality could be emphasized and critiqued.

THE CAVE

Humans have questioned existence and reality for as long as we’ve been human. More than two thousand years ago, Philosopher and teacher Plato described a hypothetical scenario, much like the matrix in which prisoners are shackled in a cave such that they can only see shadows on the cave wall.

The prisoners have no knowledge or understanding of anything outside of the cave and therefore perceive the shadows as reality and not mere projections of reality.

If a prisoner escapes the cave, the brightness of the outside world will blind him, temporarily. He must first learn to look at the shadows, then reflections on water followed by the object themselves, and finally the sun. Only then will he come to understand that he previously resided in a cave and that his perceived reality was simply shadows of the true reality outside.

With this new knowledge he must make the choice to return to the cave and free the other prisoners. However, Plato suggests that the prisoners still in the cave would not be receptive to the new info. “Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it was better not even to think of ascending; and if anyone tried to lose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death.”³ Why do people reject alternate realities? They see the initial struggles, in this case adapting to the light, and choose to stay in what is in the long-term a worse option. People tend towards the path of least resistance. People choose the blue pill.

SHRODINGER’S CAT

"A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): a Geiger counter, there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small, that perhaps in the course of the hour one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges and through a relay releases a hammer that shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts." 

This famous thought experiment put forward by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger contradicts common thought. How can the cat be both alive and dead at the same time? One proposed solution to this is the “Many-Worlds Interpretation.” Explained simply:

“Many-worlds implies that all possible alternate histories and futures are real, each representing an actual ‘world’ (or ‘universe’) . . . [T]here is a very large-perhaps infinite-number of universes, and everything that could possibly have happened in our past, but did not, has occurred in the past of some other universe or universes.” ⁵

The Many-worlds interpretation gave rise to the Multiverse Theory, which essentially believes in a multiverse where all possible alternative, parallel, and “other” universes, including the one we live in, exist together. So which universe is real? Is one more real than the others?

THE WORLD OF FORMS

Plato himself believed in the theory of Forms wherein Forms are the true reality, and our reality is a “shadow” of the world of Forms. The theory of Forms serves to answer the Problem of Universals, i.e. do properties (e.g., circularity, red, blue, large, and male) exist in reality or exclusively in human thought and speech?

He also believed the study of philosophy is of the utmost importance. He proposed a plan in “The Allegory of the Cave” for all children to study philosophy and to make it their “chief pursuit.”[6 Plato. The Republic Book VII.] Only through the dedicated study of philosophy can a person be fulfilled because based on his theory of Forms, nothing in our physical world is truly real.

THE TAPESTRY

“I mean that we here are on the wrong side of the tapestry… The things that happen here do not seem to mean anything; they mean something somewhere else. Somewhere else retribution will come on the real offender. Here it often seems to fall on the wrong person,” says Father Brown in G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown series. ⁶ A tapestry usually contains a design or picture, so a viewer on the wrong side will not see the image properly. Chesterton uses the tapestry metaphor to convey a complex abstract idea in a more concrete, easier to understand way. In this case, the tapestry helps to explain the concept of a second reality beyond our own. The belief here is clear that we are on the ‘wrong’ side and cannot see the tapestry image correctly.

The inability to see the whole “picture” or to see it correctly is played out in Lewis’ book Till We Have Faces, which is a retelling of the ancient Cupid and Psyche tale. In Lewis’ version, Orual is angry at the Gods for what she feels are injustices. However, in the second half the Orual receives an answer from the Gods and comes to understand her own feelings. ⁷ The Gods help her to see the other side of the tapestry. She realizes the flaws in her own understanding and perception of the world.

THE MULTIVERSE

In the last two years, a bizarre animated series called Rick and Morty grew a large, cult-like following. An integral component of the series revolves around the use of the multiverse. The titular characters regularly travel between different worlds both creating and solving problems. For example, in the sixth episode “Rick Potion No. 9″ Rick and Morty unwittingly cause the destruction of their home world. Unable to fix it, they move to an alternate universe that is virtually identical to their own save for two details J) the world has not been ruined and 2) the Rick and Morty of that universe die in an explosion instead. The characters are able to continue on with their lives as if nothing had happened. The show continues on.

However, it’s important to note that although the other characters continue to make appearances in the show, they are in fact not the same characters. Those characters passed away on the original planet. The characters on the show now (save Rick and Morty) are from the alternate dimension. They are identical in every way to the originals, but can they be considered the same?

THE AFTERLIFE

Religious beliefs help to guide followers in the conduction of their lives. It imposes values and morals. Churches, and non-Christian equivalents, create communities of support. Scripture teaches and instructs readers. A keystone of many religious beliefs, however, lies not in life on Earth, but in life after death. What happens after a person dies?

In J.R.R. Tolkein’s Leaf by Niggle, the titular character, Niggle, prematurely departs on a journey. Tolkien implies throughout the story that Niggle ‘s journey is a euphemism for death. In his first destination the Workhouse, they force him to work hard at various tasks. At first, Niggle was unhappy and complained greatly about the work he had to do. However, he slowly began to settle in and could work at the tasks efficiently without complaint. Only when Niggle stopped worrying about the past, toiled without complaint, and accepted the thankless nature of his work did they allow him to continue to the next destination on his journey. This first pit-stop represents a form of purgatory.  Niggle’s second destination deviates significantly in nature from the Workhouse.  Here, in “Niggle’s Country,” he works alongside his friend Parish to complete his picture. The land he creates is treasured greatly by all who visit. Meanwhile, back home, nothing remains of the original picture expect a small piece of canvas containing a single leaf which years later is also destroyed.  What happens in the “real world” prepares us for the afterlife. A greater purpose will be found there.

In C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, the protagonist takes a bus from the Grey Town to the foothills of Heaven. However, when the bus arrives at the destination, the ghost passengers find that Heaven is too harsh for them. The environment is ‘too real’ for them to stand. Many choose to return to the Grey Town, which slowly turns into Hell the longer one stays there. Even one’s memories of life on Earth will become hell.

THE MIND

"A tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it.
Does it still make a sound?"

This famous thought experiment questions the importance of observation in reality. A tree falling will create vibrations in the air, but those vibrations do not become sound without something to hear them After all, “sound” describes mechanism of the air vibrations stimulating parts of the ear and causing reactions in the brain.

Schrodinger’s Cat played on this same problem. The cat was both alive and dead prior to observation. When the box was opened and the cat observed, reality collapsed into one or the other. Without observation there is no sound and the cat cannot exist completely in either state. Observation is a critical component of reality.

In Lewis’s The Great Divorce, the characters describe hell as “a state of mind,” but “Heaven is reality itself.” ⁸ Does that mean Hell doesn’t exist? Based on the readings of Chesterton, Lewis, Plato and others the logical conclusion is Hell not a part of true reality. We recognize Hell as reality when our perception is skewed. In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Hell would be a shadow inside the cave. The prisoners see it as real although it does not truly exist.

“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,” Morpheus poses the question partway through The Matrix.⁹ As the characters work their way through the matrix world simulation during the course of the movie, it’s clear the simple definition Morpheus presents is insufficient, even inaccurate. The characters in the stories of G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis experience similar dilemmas. Chesterton’s Father Brown acknowledges the tapestry. In The Great Divorce, Lewis explains how only Heaven is the true reality. Leaf by Niggle, from J.R.R. Tolkien, takes Niggle on a journey to a better place; everything leading up to his arrival was simply preparation. Even ancient philosopher Plato believed in the idea of a more real reality than our own as illustrated in “The Allegory of the Cave.” It’s as Lewis said:

"I was made for another world."

Two pills, red and blue, are in front of you. Take the red and acknowledge everything you know is not real. Your life is only a shadow of the truth. Knowledge is power. Or take the blue and accept the shadows as real. Ignorance is bliss.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I­ --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference." 

What will you choose?