130 - Donald Hoffman: The Illusion of Reality

Donald Hoffman is Professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where he also has joint appointments in the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, and the School of Computer Science. Don has worked on a number of problems in his career, including human facial attractiveness, the mind-body problem, the evolution of perception, and even vehicle lighting. In this episode, Robinson and Don discuss his latest book, The Case Against Reality, which argues that human perception did not evolve to see the world as it really is, but in fact what we perceive is a world of icons that, in analogy to a computer desktop, bears no resemblance to what is going on in the objective space beyond our senses.

The Case Against Reality: https://a.co/d/9kxeOI8

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:19 Introduction

04:03 Why Don Thinks We Don’t Perceive Reality

07:55 Do We Interact with Reality Like an iPhone?

13:28 Vitalism and the Mystery of Consciousness

26:55 An Anecdote About Chomsky

30:00 Consciousness and Cutting the Brain in Half

41:20  Can Science Explain Consciousness?

49:15 How Beauty Disguises Reality

01:02:02 What is Veridical Perception?

01:10:13 The Battle Between Truth, Fitness, and Reality

01:31:16 Exploring the FBT Theorem

01:41:56 What is the Interface Theory of Perception?

01:47:10 Illusory Blue Jeans to Make Your Butt Look Good

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.