Are We Living In God's "Matrix"?

[Mister Agenda]

"Cognito ergo sum”, “I think, therefore, I am”. Descarte’s famous quote sums up, in a few words, everything that I know as absolute truth.

I think you meant 'cogito', not 'cognito'. I suppose 'cognito' would be the opposite of 'incognito'. Just a nit, please don't be embarassed, it's easy to type wrong even if your brain knows how to spell it.

I perceive and form opinion. I observe and assess. I experience and evaluate, compare and assimilate based on all my previous experiences. The opinions I form will be dependent upon what I have observed prior and what information I have been socialized to accept as truth. However, the only thing I really know is that I have this experience. I do not know for sure you also experience this (the truth is, you could be a robot), but I know it happens for me.

That sounds like a very thoughtful and reasonable statement.

Biological scientists have attempted to expand upon Descarte’s truth to try to explain the mechanisms involved. Many claim that vibrating waves and particles interact with our awareness and are experienced based on the frequency of the vibration. Labels have been assigned to aspects of, what have been called, “biological systems” to assist with the communication of these concepts. According to many, there is no experience beyond what is capable of being picked up by these receptors (or assistant technologies).

According to public opinion, these receptors tell us the truth about what “is”. Unfortunately (brace yourself), there is no evidence that the mechanisms convey to us anything that resembles what actually “is”. The biological systems are said to produce an experience based on the vibration of particles interacting with receptors and the subsequent biological processes. The truth about what “is” cannot be deduced from this, it simply confirms Descarte’s claim that we experience and form opinion. Similar to the concept of the “Matrix”, if we choose to believe we are experiencing reality, then our reality is real regardless of what actually “is”. In this sense, anything could be possible.

I'm curious as to the atheist perspective on this...

Sigh. It is true that we can't prove reality is real. We could be brains in vats. Theists can't prove reality is real either. So what does it have to do with atheism? If we ARE brains in vats, it doesn't take an omnipotent deity to explain; just someone capable of putting us in this situation.

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I ask because of the absolute nature of the atheist perspective. Most atheists I know argue they are 100% sure there is no intelligent design, no influencing entities, however, how can you be so sure?

You're asking the wrong people. Most of the atheists we know don't say that.

What is it that confirms that for you? I mean, "agnostic" seems to be the way to go when there are obviously so many variables that we can't possibly control for. Aren't you concerned about the possibility of having to "eat crow" later on?

Most of us are agnostic atheists. Don't know, don't believe. It's okay for you to use 'agnostic' as a placeholder for the precarious spot exactly between theism and atheism where you put the odds of God at exactly 50/50; but most people who don't think these things can be known don't fall on that sweet spot. They're agnostic theists who don't know but believe anyway (or at least put the odds of God at higher than 50%) or agnostic atheists who don't know and don't believe (or at least put the odds of God being real lower than 50%...usually MUCH lower).

From your posts, you sound much more like an agnostic theist than an on-the-fence agnostic.

Oh, and what does being American have to do with anything?

The implication is that our education system and press have left you less informed than one would expect of a typical Western European citizen. Or rather that, working backwards from how informed you seem to be, the conclusion is that you came up in America rather than a country better at informing its citizenry.