There is a certain parallelism between the ideas established in Plur1bus and Buddhist philosophy surrounding the concept of the dissolution of the ego or the individual self as the central axis from which almost our entire vision and conception of ourselves arise.

At first glance, this convergence may invite the idea that Plur1bus represents a “Buddhist” vision extended to the whole of humanity, and although this is a playful exercise, such an identification is incorrect—though perhaps extrapolable with a small twist.

The intuition: the universe experiencing itself

The idea that “the human being, the individual, is the universe experiencing itself” appears recurrently across many religious and philosophical frameworks. It suggests that consciousness does not belong to individuals, but rather that individuals are expressions of a deeper universal process. It may even be a property, as panpsychism explains, that transcends the human being itself and is present in all kinds of things, from the smallest to the largest, from the most inanimate to the most complete—such as the universe as a whole.

From this perspective, the separation that exists between beings is not fundamental, but rather a contingent appearance. The key question, however, is to what extent that separation is illusory, and what exactly is plural and what is singular: the selves, the persons, or experience itself.

There is no self, but there are many experiences

Buddhism explicitly rejects the existence of a permanent and independent self (anatta). What we commonly call a “person” is analysed as an aggregation of physical and mental processes occurring at a particular moment in time and in a specific region of space. Awakening, or so-called “enlightenment,” consists in coexisting with this fact while simultaneously ceasing attachment to the fiction of a metaphysical “self.” It is about understanding that we do not coexist within the universe, but are merely a minute part of it.

However, classical Buddhist analysis preserves: streams of consciousness (causally connected mental moments under a flow of what we call immediate past, present, and future), localised perception and cognition, and—importantly—individual karmic continuity (although this last point is, for me, less important and open to debate).

In short, Buddhism denies selves, but not perspectives.

The conception of Plur1bus, the latest series by Vince Gilligan—best known as the creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul—formulates a much stronger ontological claim. It does not merely deny personal identity, but bases its premise on a “virus” that denies the very existence of the individual as an “individual experiential centre.”

Where Buddhism states:

“There is experience without a self,”

Plur1bus is grounded in:

“There is experience without individuals.”

It does so by turning the human species into a kind of hive mind in which all individuals seem to act without self-determination; the series even allows itself the luxury of asserting that this “single mind” is not yet fully capable of understanding how the process itself works.

Consequences for ethics and agency

Because Buddhism preserves individualised experience, it also preserves ethical practice (necessary in the real world). Compassion, responsibility, and liberation remain meaningful because there are still beings who suffer, act, and awaken.

Plur1bus asks (and answers itself) what would happen if we combined the two concepts: there is no unique individual self, but there is a single “self” or a shared “we.” Society as a whole converted into solipsism—except for 13 incorrigible individuals (terribly unlucky) who have been unable to become part of the collective aggregate.

This dual conception is easily reflected in the scene in which part of this hive society is giving a massage to the protagonist (who is separated from it) and to a woman who does belong to the collective. The protagonist then wonders how strange the massage process must be for her (for them). But it is not so different from when one gives oneself a foot massage—if the feet had once been beings capable of having their own elusive consciousness. Anyone can experience this by caressing themselves while simultaneously touching someone beside them. It remains pleasurable for both.

Karma, however, seems to disappear within this hive mind once it becomes a single entity—but not outside it. In fact, the series makes a considerable effort to show us the inherent destructiveness of refusing to harm any living being—not even plants (returning to panpsychism), and certainly not any of the 13 survivors of the virus. Karma survives, instead, in the fact that acting wrongly toward another person would automatically and irreversibly return that harm upon oneself—once again, the universe experiencing itself.

Loneliness in society

One of the key aspects of the series is loneliness. It is perhaps its strongest point and the one to which it devotes the greatest effort (something that may earn it detractors who see it as overly slow-paced, but this is necessary to explore the idea).

Loneliness is processed in four acts:
(1) Carol’s separation from the rest of society after being attacked by the virus, leaving her alone in her attempt to return the world to its original state.
(2) Total separation when the hive mind decides to distance itself from her (for reasons of emotional space).
(3) Carol’s separation from the remaining 12 individuals, who seem not to share her ideals (perhaps the series could have devoted more time to presenting their viewpoints here, but that would have affected our connection to Carol’s loneliness).
(4) The loneliness of Manousos, who—unlike Carol—chooses not to speak with the hive mind, embarking on a tremendous solitary journey (which for many will be the slowest and most boring episode).

One minor disappointment for me is that the series did not allow itself to play a bit more with the loneliness both characters would feel from not being able to speak the same language—something easily resolved through technology.

This loneliness clashes with the unification of the entire planet under a single personification manifested through different humans. And the loneliness clashes so strongly that Carol herself can no longer bear it and, for a brief moment, seems to prefer the embrace of her enemy.

Conclusion

The series speaks to us about many things: the individual, consciousness, loneliness, karma manifested in a hive mind, animosity (an atomic bomb!), peace, apathy, humanity as a whole and its burden on the planet, and the planet’s burden on humanity. It perhaps speaks of much more. Of the Buddhist concept of enlightenment achieved through understanding oneself as part of a whole. Of communism versus capitalism (why not?). Of limits and their absence. Of the plural and the individual.

That is why it is Plur1bus and not Pluribus.