The Red Pill: Look the Truth in the Eye

Each of us persistently seeks happiness. But what is it? Ideal living conditions? Love? Money? Self-realization? We will examine this question not from a philosophical point of view, as is usually done, but from the standpoint of neurophysiology — that is, with the utmost seriousness. Science does have an answer to this question; all that remains is to look the truth in the eye…

How did scientists study “happiness,” and what conclusions did they reach?

What basic needs determine our sense of “happiness”?

What threatens our happiness?

Is there happiness in love?

How much money does one need to be happy?

Can work make us happy?

In the Wachowski brothers’ (now sisters’) film The Matrix, the leader of the local Resistance, Mr. Morpheus, offers the hacker Neo a choice between two pills: one red — the pill of truth — and the second blue — the pill of delusion and sweet slumber. The lecture offers the “red pill”: an exit from the “Matrix” lies ahead.

And yes, this can be taken as a warning!