When I have a perceptual experience that I describe as a red tomato, I am interacting with reality, but that reality is not a red tomato and is nothing like a red tomato. – Donald Hoffman
Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman challenges the common assumption that we perceive reality as it is. Hoffman explores the role of evolution in shaping our perceptions and proposes a theory of conscious realism, suggesting that consciousness, not matter, shapes the ultimate nature of reality.
Table of Contents
- Mystery of brain activity and consciousness
- Perception and reality
- Role of evolution in perception
- Perception as survival mechanism
- Reality and the desktop metaphor
- Perceptions and truth
- Perception and offspring
- Logic, mathematics and truth
- Conscious realism
- Individual cognitive faculties
- Evolution and truth
Mystery of brain activity and consciousness
The connection between brain activity and conscious experiences is not yet fully understood.
Some experts believe that we may not have the necessary concepts or intelligence to unravel this mystery.
Perception and reality
The notion that we perceive reality as it is, is debunked.
Our minds are constantly at work, constructing and reconstructing our perceptions based on our experiences and interactions.
