TPF : Reality vs Illusion

A place for discussion of ideas presented in the BothAndBlog, or relevant to the Enformationism thesis.
Post Reply
User avatar
Gnomon
Site Admin
Posts: 3287
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2017 7:07 pm

TPF : Reality vs Illusion

Post by Gnomon » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:05 pm

(Without Ockham's razor) The chances that this is reality is the same as it being an illusion?
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussi ... ent/525745

The proposition is, without Ockham's razor, the chances that this is reality is the same as it being an illusion. — Down The Rabbit Hole

That equation of Real and Illusory may be true in one sense, but it seems to be based on a loose use of terminology. I prefer to make a comparison between Real and Ideal. That's because everything you "know" is a mental construct, a Subjective Idea, not a direct perception of Objective Reality. Kant's Transcendental Idealism used the terms Phenomenon and Noumenon to describe what we perceive (appearances) and what we imagine (noumena) to be really out there in the world.

A more recent formulation of the same notion is cognitive psychologist Donald Hoffman's theory, expressed in The Case Against Reality, that Evolution, in the interest of fitness, filtered-out the messy complexities of "Reality" from human observers -- like the smoke & mirrors of a stage magician -- by reducing our incoming sensory information to simple symbolic Icons (mental imagery = Ideality). In that case, the subjective illusion (phenomenon) is all we ever know about the objective ding an sich (noumenon). His "Fitness Beats Truth theorem is a modern version of the ancient notion of Maya, the veil of illusion".

Fortunately, the human mind has developed a method to get closer to the underlying truth : the Scientific Method (including Okham's Razor). It's still not direct access to Reality, but it allows us to peek behind the curtain to see the mechanical dials and levers that produce the iconic mental images that we naively accept as True Reality. B-)


Kant: Experience and Reality :
Phenomena are the appearances, which constitute the our experience; noumena are the (presumed) things themselves, which constitute reality. ... Since the thing in itself (Ding an sich) would by definition be entirely independent of our experience of it, we are utterly ignorant of the noumenal realm.
http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/5g.htm

Reality is not what you see :
In his doctrine of Transcendental Idealism, 18th century philosopher, Immanuel Kant argued that our perception of reality is limited to constructs created in our own minds to represent the invisible and intangible ultimate reality that he mysteriously labeled “ding an sich” [things-in-essence, as opposed to things-as-we-know-them]. In other words, what we think we see, is not absolute reality but our own ideas about reality.
http://bothandblog6.enformationism.info/page21.html

Is Reality a Cosmic Simulation? :
“Musk is just one of the people in Silicon Valley to take a keen interest in the “simulation hypothesis”, which argues that what we experience as reality is actually a giant computer simulation created by a more sophisticated intelligence. If it sounds a lot like The Matrix, that’s because it is.”
http://bothandblog4.enformationism.info/page23.html

Reality is a Theory :
“Let us remember that our knowledge of the world begins not with matter but with perceptions. I know that my pain exists, my “green” exists, and my “sweet” exists. I do not need any proof of their existence, because these events are a part of me; everything else is a theory.” ___Andre Linde, theoretical physicist
http://bothandblog5.enformationism.info/page15.html

Reality is Ideality
:
Physics is ultimately Meta-Physics
http://bothandblog5.enformationism.info/page17.html

User avatar
Gnomon
Site Admin
Posts: 3287
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2017 7:07 pm

Re: TPF : Reality vs Illusion

Post by Gnomon » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:09 pm

I was thinking of getting Hoffman's book a while back, but the reviews were terrible. — Down The Rabbit Hole

I suspect that the reviews you referred to were negative, due to the slightly New-Agey tone of his book. New Age guru, Deepak Chopra, was much more positive : “A masterpiece of logic, rationality, science, and mathematics. Read this book carefully and you will forever change your understanding of reality, both that of the universe and your own self.”

Personally, I am wary of some New Age notions that cross the line into Magic & Mysticism. But, what I most appreciate in Hoffman's book is the useful and meaningful metaphor of our subjective worldview as an "Interface", which represents ultimate reality via symbolic icons. I wouldn't call that an "illusion", but a pragmatic necessity due to the limited capacity of the human brain, which is still a work-in-progress. Anyway, I have no problem at all with combining Realism and Idealism into a single comprehensive belief system.

True Reality : Both Real & Ideal :
For empirical scientific purposes, those ideal aspects of the world can be safely ignored. But for theoretical personal reasons we have no other choice but to deal with the unreal.
http://bothandblog.enformationism.info/page30.html

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests