The Case Against Reality: How Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes

The Case Against Reality

How Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes

2019 • 256 pages

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Do we see the world as it truly is? Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman says no: our visual perceptions are not a window on reality, but are interfaces constructed by natural selection. Using thirty years of his own research, as well as others' work in evolutionary biology, game theory, neuroscience, computer science, information theory, and philosophy, Hoffman proves that evolution has shaped our perceptions into illusions. The sensory simplifications that once maximized our performance and reproductive fitness are now impressions that can be manipulated by marketing and design. The world is nothing like what we see through our eyes, and "The Case Against Reality" explains why.


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