Is Morpheus a Materialist?

NPR File 4

“What is ‘real’? How do you define ‘real’? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, taste and see then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.” states Morpheus when he introduces Neo to the construct, a simulation program. By defining reality as electrical signals from your senses interpreted by our brain, Morpheus places himself on the materialistic side of the spectrum in the Hard Problem debate. What Hard Problem? What debate? Exactly, that is what this blog is about.

The Hard Problem, aka the Explanatory Gap, is the thick heavenly, reinforced concrete wall we drive into trying to explain the transition from the physiological working of our brain to the existence of an individual, me, myself and I. The brain is one of the most mysterious organs. Our brain uses 10–23 watts, enough to light a small bulb. Deep Blue beat Kasparov on May 11 1997; Deep Blue consisted of 30 PowerPC processors and 480 custom chess chips. Do the math. Besides, the brain deals uniquely with vast amounts of information, beautifully described by a Dutch songwriter Thé Lau…