"The Matrix as metaphysics"


Are we living in a Matrix?  And if so, is our perception of the
external world illusory?  Many people, including philosophers from
Descartes to Morpheus, say yes: if we're in a Matrix, then the
ordinary objects that we seem to see don't exist, and we're radically
deluded.  I say no: even if we're in a Matrix, ordinary objects still
exist, and most of our beliefs about the external world are correct.
Instead, we can see the Matrix hypothesis as a metaphysical hypothesis
about the underlying nature of physics in our world.

See also http://consc.net/papers/matrix.html