Causality, the Illusion of Choice, and Quiet Freedom
A conversation with the Merovingian from The Matrix
When you think long enough about free will and determinism, at some point you unexpectedly hear a familiar voice. For me, it was the Merovingian from Matrix Reloaded.
«Causality. There is no escape from it. We are forever slaves to it.»
«Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without.»
«You see, there is only one constant, one universal: causality.»
The Uncomfortable Truth
This phrase sounds cynical, but there is an uncomfortable truth in it. Most of our decisions are not free. They are consequences of genetics, upbringing, context, emotions, and the structures we live in. We are aware of our desires, but rarely see the causes that gave rise to them.
In this sense, the Merovingian is right: choice as absolute freedom is an illusion.
Where This Thinking Comes From
Philosophically, the Merovingian speaks the language of strict determinism, close to Spinoza. Spinoza wrote that a person considers themselves free only because they are aware of their desires, but do not know the causes that led to them. This is exactly the thought the Wachowskis put into his monologues.
It's worth noting: the creators of The Matrix — Lana and Lilly Wachowski — were genuinely interested in determinism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, and the philosophy of causality. The Merovingian is not a villain in the usual sense, but a personification of a cold rational view of the world, in which there is no place for naive freedom.
Where the Merovingian Stops
However, the Merovingian makes an important stop — and this is precisely his limitation.
He sees causality as a prison. If everything is determined — then all that remains is to accept the rules of the game and extract benefit from power over others.
This is a complete, logical, but dead conclusion.
Where Another Path Begins
Buddhism and modern science take the next step. Yes, everything arises from causes. But awareness of the causes themselves also becomes a cause.
This doesn't cancel determinism, but changes its trajectory.
Freedom here is not "I could have acted differently in the past," but "I see what conditions lead to such results."
This is not choice in the romantic sense. This is navigation.
Quiet Freedom
At this point, determinism ceases to be a justification for passivity and becomes a tool. Not "I or God decided," but structures, conditions, and reactions led to the result. Which means you can:
- change conditions,
- choose systems,
- not reproduce the same chains.
This is freedom without pathos, without slogans, and without heroism. Freedom not as power, but as understanding.
Instead of a Conclusion
The Merovingian is right when he speaks of causality. He is wrong when he considers it the end of the conversation.
Causality is not a sentence. It is a map.
And the only thing that truly distinguishes a conscious person from a character inside a system is the ability to read this map and not confuse it with the illusion of choice.
The fourth position, the rarest:I see the causes and act so that the next causes are different.