“Conscious realism makes a bold claim: consciousness, not spacetime and its objects, is fundamental reality and is properly described as a network of conscious agents. To earn its keep, conscious realism must do serious work ahead. It must ground a theory of quantum gravity, explain the emergence of our spacetime interface and its objects, explain the appearance of Darwinian evolution within that interface, and explain the evolutionary emergence of human psychology.”
― Donald D. Hoffman, The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes
Professor Donald Hoffman is an American cognitive psychologist and popular science author. He is a professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, with joint appointments in the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, and the School of Computer Science.
Hoffman studies consciousness, visual perception and evolutionary psychology using mathematical models and psychophysical experiments. He is an author to over 4 books (see below), with the latest arguing the case against reality. His 2015 TED Talk, "Do we see reality as it is?" argues that our perceptions have evolved to hide reality from us.
Join us as we discuss:
- How evolution has shaped the way we view the world
- The use of mathematical modelling to map out these theories
- How Spacetime is not fundamental
- Reasons for why reality may be an illusion
- The meeting of science and spirituality
EPISODE LINKS:
Donald Hoffman Papers: https://www.researchgate.net/scientif...
Donald Hoffman Books:
The Case Against Reality: https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-R...
Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See: https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Intelli...
Observer Mechanics: A Formal Theory of Perception: https://www.amazon.com/Observer-Mecha...
Automotive Lighting and Human Vision: https://link.springer.com/book/10.100...