The whole purpose of the Matrix is essentially to make the entire human race falsely believe that they are experiencing life as it is being fed to them. Thus, they believe that they know what is real as they have experienced it. Morpheus (Neo’s acting mentor throughout the film) said “What is real? How do you define 'real'? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.” Tearing down the empiricist argument in terms of the way the Matrix works. In the case of rationalism, to “know” and understand what is happening to them and the difference between the Matrix and real life, the characters must rationalize the situation. Neo plays the role of the skeptic, as he is unsure of either, questioning everything he can.