Determinism And Free Will In The Matrix

One of the biggest and longest standing questions of our existence is whether we truly have free will, or if we are all just subject to deterministic forces which have a path preset for us to unknowingly follow. Many modern pieces of media have tried to tackle these philosophical concepts, and provide possible answers in their own way. The Matrix, directed by the Wachowski sisters and released in 1999, is one of these. Themes of determinism and free will are very prevalent in The Matrix, and can be seen in how the characters talk about decision making, how metaphors for determinism present themselves in the film, and how the overarching plot unfolds in relation to the idea of prophecy.

It’s very important to Neo’s character that he has free

She’s said to know the future of everyone and everything. She tells Neo that he’s not the chosen one because she knows that it’s necessary for him to feel like he made the choice to be the chosen one all on his own. This demonstrates that the feeling of free will does not inherently prove that we do actually have free will. Despite Neo thinking that he has free will, it’s heavily implied by the existence of his prophecy that he, in fact, does not. Morpheus knew that Neo was the chosen one, and that determined all of his actions throughout the whole film. Morpheus was quite literally prepared to sacrifice his own life for Neo because of the prophecy. He knew he would have to be ready for that moment because no matter what, it was inevitable. Neo’s messianism was determined by this prophecy since before he was aware about the truth of his world. Although it appears that he didn’t have to realize the prophecy and simply chose it on his own, this was something that was set in stone even before he initially got out of the matrix. Every action he made throughout the film was providing the necessary fulfillment of this prophecy. From him following the white rabbit, choosing the red pill, and learning Kung Fu, it was always impossible for him to make any other choices, because he had to end up in that moment of true enlightenment at the end of the