Thirteenth Floor Simulations

In the film, The Thirteenth Floor, people lived in a world with three different kinds of existence based on different time periods in history. These time periods included the 1930’s, the 1990’s, and the 2020’s. Each different kind of existence contained inhabitants who lived their lives how they normally would during their time periods. The inhabitants of the 2020’s created a simulation based on the 1990’s, while the inhabitants of the 1990’s created a simulation based on the 1930’s. These simulated existences are an excellent example of Descartes’s arguments about various reasons for doubt.
Douglas Hall, a computer scientist who lived in 1990’s Los Angeles, California, created a simulation based on 1930’s California with his colleagues Hannon

Fuller and Jason Whitney. After Hannon Fuller was mysteriously murdered outside of a bar one night, Douglas Hall was determined to find out who murdered Fuller. Consequently, Hall decided to enter the 1930’s simulation to investigate what happened before Fuller’s murder.

In the 1930’s simulation, Hall’s consciousness was transferred into his 1930’s counterpart, John Ferguson. Within the 1930’s simulation, Hall was completely absorbed by a world that felt as real as his own. All of the inhabitants in the 1930’s simulation were completely unaware of the fact that their existence was a simulation. This relates to Descartes’s arguments about the various reasons of doubt. According to Descartes, we would not know if everything around us is not real because we may be in a dream or being tricked by an evil genius or scientist. In the case of The Thirteenth Floor, it is the latter. Furthermore, Descartes argues that if we are under the control of an evil genius, we are mistaken of our beliefs and do not have any knowledge other than the knowledge that we exist. The inhabitants of the 1930’s simulation were under the control of the scientists of the 1990’s simulation. Therefore, the inhabitants of the 1930’s simulation possessed no knowledge other than the knowledge that they existed. This of course, led Hall and his colleague Jason Whitney to the conclusion that their simulation was a success. Unfortunately, Hall and Whitney were completely oblivious to the fact that they

were also within a simulation. The inhabitants of the 1990’s simulation were controlled by the evil husband of Jane Fuller, daughter of the simulated Hannon Fuller. Hall was unaware that he was being controlled by an evil genius until Jane Fuller told him. This is particularly interesting because it supports Descartes arguments about doubt even further. At this point, Hall is left in a state of confusion about his beliefs. Based on Descartes’s arguments about doubt, we know that Hall’s synthetic beliefs and his analytic beliefs are all wrong upon realizing that his existence is only a simulation. In addition, Hall’s knowledge can no longer be counted as knowledge as any knowledge he possessed at this point, can now be doubted.
In the eyes of Descartes, we may be in a similar situation to those in The Thirteenth Floor. At any moment, we may be in a dream or being controlled by an evil genius. So living in a simulation like the characters in The Thirteenth Floor may not be that unlikely. If it were the case that we were indeed in a simulation, we can also know some things about ourselves. We are able to doubt our beliefs, and in doubting our beliefs, we can know that we exist because we are thinking. To doubt is to think, therefore we know that we are thinking, therefore we know that we exist. In the words of Descartes this is, “I think, therefore I am”. This belief is our one and only indubitable belief. In other words, thinking is a sufficient condition for existence. This ties to the idea of Foundationalism. Foundationalism argues that we have two beliefs, and that all of our other beliefs come from these two. All of these arguments can lead us to the conclusion that we may be in a simulation like the characters in The Thirteenth Floor and that we may be wrong about all of our beliefs including our synthetic beliefs and analytic beliefs.
Fortunately for us, Descartes argues that whatever is clearly and distinctly perceived is true.

This means that if we see something clearly and distinctly we are able to conclude that it is true and cannot be doubted. But on the other hand, what if what I clearly and distinctly perceive is true is actually false because I may be being tricked by an evil genius? According to Descartes, this is not possible because of the existence of God. Descartes says that God would not trick us because he is a perfect being. So, with there being a perfect god, it is impossible for there to be an evil genius tricking us because God would not allow such a thing. This leads us to believe that if Descartes’s argument for the principle of clarity and distinctness is true, then it would not be possible for us to be living in a simulation like The Thirteenth Floor. In spite of this good news, Descartes’s argument is problematic. Descartes attempts to prove the principle of clarity and distinctness by using the existence of God as a bridge. At the same time, Descartes must use this principle to explain the existence of God. Descartes ends up with a circular argument known as the Cartesian circle. This can be problematic because it means that if God does not exist, then it means that it is entirely possible for us to be living in a simulation. Maybe even a simulation within a simulation like the inhabitants of the 1930’s simulation. Not all hope is lost when it comes to our existence. Descartes

argues that at some point, something is true if it is beyond a reasonable doubt. In other words, something does not need to be beyond any possibility for it to be true. This is good news for us because it allows to distinguish what is real and what is not real to an extent. So the odds of finding ourselves in a position similar to those in The Thirteenth Floor is possible, but highly improbable.