Nate Curtis

PHIL 1000-15
Jane Drexler
May 2, 2015
Choices: Moral and Otherwise
Life for most people is made up partly by the decisions that they make. When youre
young the choices are simple. Mostly whether or not to obey your elders. As people grow older,
however, the choices become more and more difficult. Such as who to marry, if you even want to
marry, or what profession to go into. When you get older the choices not only become more
difficult but also more important. Big choices can either make or break you. In The Matrix,
Cypher makes a very big decision. Perhaps the biggest of his life. Many people, especially the
philosophers we have learned about in this class, would have quite a bit to say about Cyphers
choice and Im sure most of it would not be pleasant.
In The Matrix, a sci-fi film from the turn of the century, machines take control of the
world and enslave mankind in order to use them as energy. The Matrix itself if a computer
program that simulates life. Almost everyone is plugged into the Matrix with no clue that it isnt
real. Cypher is one of few people who has been broken free from the Matrix. He is part of a
rebellion against the machines whose purpose is to eventually free everyone from the prison they
are in.
Life outside of the Matrix is bleak and disappointing. Some would even say depressing.
They eat the same meals every day, they are at war with the machines, and life seems hard

altogether. Although most of the freed spend quite a bit of time plugged into the matrix in order
to complete missions and free people, Cypher usually stays behind to run the program. One day
Cypher goes into the Matrix to meet with the machines who manifest themselves as Hugo
Weaving. Cypher decides to give up his fellow rebels in order to go back into the Matrix and
forget all about the outside world. He kills some people and does some bad stuff but his plan is
defeated.
The issue with this is his choice to betray the people who freed him. His friends and
partners in the war against the machines. Was his choice of ignorance immoral? The earlier
philosophers that we have learned about write quite a bit about moral issues and most would
agree that Cyphers choice was wrong.
One of the philosophers that would have plenty to say on the subject is Aristotle. In his
writing entitled Moral Virtue Aristotle explains that we act the way that we do based on our
character. He believes that our character is grounded in our virtues and vices. (pg 28) Virtues
are essentially our good qualities and habits whereas Vices are our bad qualities and habits.
Aristotle argues that since virtues and vices make up our character they are just as important as
our character itself. On page 36 of Moral Virtue he says but for our virtues and vices we are
praised or blamed. (36) What he is saying is, what we do is what matters. Our actions and the
way we conduct ourselves. In Aristotles mind, Cypher betraying his crew would be a terrible act
because it reflects bad character. He would argue that Cypher is a weak-willed person.
Aristotle also taught of what he called telos. Also known as his final cause, a telos is
somethings purpose (Drexler 2015). For example, the telos of a religious leader would be to
teach the gospel. Or the telos of a bee is to pollinate flowers. Aristotle taught that the way to
reach eudemoniabeing happy and functioning well--was by reacting your telos (Drexler 2015).

Since Cypher had been freed one could argue that his purpose was to help free others. So by
betraying his crew and choosing ignorant bliss he did not fulfil his telos. Aristotle would have
been against Cyphers choice to abandon his telos.
Likewise, Plato would disagree with Cyphers choice. The Matrix just so happens to be
based on the writings of Plato. In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato writes about people becoming
enlightened by knowledge of what the world around them really is. When he writes [the
enlightened] must be made to descend again among the prisoners in the den and partake of their
labors (210) he illustrates that it is the duty of the enlightened to help enlighten others (Plato).
In Platos eyes, people who have been enlightened have a moral obligation to help others.
Plato would have been against the decision made by Cypher. He would have been very
adamant about it as well. Platos mentor lived and died because of his belief that it was his duty
to enlighten others, and Plato was very influenced by that belief. In The Allegory of the Cave,
Plato quotes Homer; better to be the poor servant of a poor master, and to endure anything
rather than think as they do and live after their manner. (207) What he means by this that it is
better to be as low as you possibly can living in truth than to be held up in falsehood. So Plato
would have been very disapproving of Cypher not only because he betrayed his crew members
but also because he abandoned the people he was supposed to help save.
Aside from failing to liberate the people left in the proverbial cave, Plato would disagree
with Cyphers choice because he failed to live by his own convictions. Cypher made a choice to
be enlightened therefore he had a responsibility not only to the others enslaved, but also to
himself. According to Plato the meaning of life is to gain true knowledge. One must have
knowledge to become truly enlightened (Plato). Cypher sold out before attaining true

enlightenment so how could he be happy? Well Plato, and many others, would argue that he
couldnt be.
Epictetus was another philosopher we learned about who would have had a lot to say
about the moral dilemma faced by Cypher. Epictetus was a stoic. Meaning he believed that
everything is fated. He taught of universal conflagration which means that there are continuous
universal constructions and destructions. He believed that each time around was exactly the
same. Not a single thing could be different so people really have no control over what we do
because it has to be the exact same thing as what we did the last time around (Drexler 2015).
Even though Epictetus thought that everything we did was predetermined, he believed we
were in control of how we felt about things. In his writing, Enchiridion, he says Some things are
up to us, and some things are not up to us. (519) He continues to talk about the things we can
control. Pretty much the only things we can control are our own emotions and feelings. If
someone is unhappy because of a bad situation they are in they could change their attitude
towards the situation and make it better. Epictetus was a slave for most of his life so he knows
firsthand about being in bad situations.
Despite almost everything being out of our control, Epictetus taught of a set of principles
to live life by. One of my favorite principals of his says this, for it is better to attain freedom
from sorrow and fear then die of hunger than to live lavishly in vexation. (Epictetus 521).
Looking at Cyphers choice through this lens makes it clear that Epictetus would have been
against the decision. In fact most of the principals he has laid out to live life by have to do with
staying away from bodily pleasures. Cypher acted only on his bodily desires. Therefore I think
Epictetus would have also disagreed with Cyphers choice.

Whenever I think about this I tend to teeter totter with my opinion. I think that the
purpose of life is to be happy. If we only get one shot at life then it would be a waste if you spent
it otherwise. So I have to sympathize for Cypher to a certain extent. His life outside of the Matrix
was awful. He obviously wasnt happy so he did something to change that. He cant be blamed
or judged for doing something to better his own life. Where I lose that sympathy, though, is how
he goes about making himself happy. He betrays the trust of his friends and crew members and
even kills one or two of them.
I also believe that it is important to live by a set of beliefs. To prescribe yourself a moral
standard and live by that with honor. Turning on his crew was wrong morally. At least according
to the standards that I, and most of society, hold myself to. That, to me, isnt as bad still as how
he did it. Choosing ignorant bliss isnt necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. The bad part about
what he did was betraying and killing his crew members.
It would be a hard decision for anyone to make. As much as I like to think I would
choose the right thing by standing by my crew and helping liberate others, I would probably
choose the opposite. I have never been put in this sort of situation but I dont think I could kill
people I was that close to and abandon the rest. But I also think I would want to go back into the
matrix and live out my life in ignorance.
All in all, Aristotle, Plato, Epictetus, and Im sure many other peopleincluding myself-would say that Cypher made the wrong choice. He betrayed the trust of his closest friends,
abandoned his duty to liberate others, and killed his allies. If he could have gone back without
doing all that then no one could blame him. It is natural to want to be happy and try to find a way
out of misery. But it is more important to live justly and hold yourself accountable to the choices
you have made and the life you have been given.

Works Cited
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics: Book II, Moral Vertue.
Drexler, Jane. Class lectures. Salt Lake Community College. Taylorsville, UT. 2015
Plato. Book VII: Allegory of the Cave.
Epictetus. Enchiridion.