How humans have grappled with the question of what is real for centuries.

The question of “what is real” has been a central theme in philosophy, science, and religion for centuries. Throughout history, humans have tried to understand the nature of reality and how we can know what is truly real. Here are some key perspectives and approaches that have evolved over time:

Philosophical Perspectives:

Ancient Greece:

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (380 BCE): Plato suggested that humans often live in a world of shadows and illusions, unable to perceive the true nature of reality. In his allegory, prisoners are chained in a cave, seeing only shadows on the wall. One prisoner escapes and discovers the world outside, realizing that the shadows were mere illusions. This represents Plato’s idea that the physical world is an imperfect reflection of a higher, unchanging reality (the world of forms).

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) believed in a more empirical approach to understanding reality, arguing that reality is based on the material world and can be studied through observation and reason. He developed a system of logic that continues to influence how we approach truth and knowledge.

Rene Descartes (1596–1650): Descartes famously questioned everything he thought he knew and arrived at his famous conclusion, “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). He wondered whether anything could be known for sure and reasoned that, while the external world could be deceptive, the very act of doubting or thinking proved the existence of his own mind. This led him to conclude that the only certain thing was his own existence, though his ideas were later critiqued for not fully explaining the external world.

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804): Kant argued that while we can never know things as they truly are (the “noumenon”), we can know the world as it appears to us (the “phenomenon”). According to him, the mind shapes our perception of reality, meaning that while the external world exists independently of us, our understanding of it is always filtered through the categories of our minds.

Religious Views:

Many religious traditions have offered different understandings of reality, often emphasizing that the material world is not the ultimate reality. For example:

In Hinduism, the material world is seen as illusory (Maya), with the ultimate reality being the unchanging, infinite consciousness of Brahman.

Buddhism similarly teaches that what we perceive as real is fleeting and impermanent. It emphasizes the concept of emptiness (Sunyata) and the idea that all things are interconnected, but no thing is inherently real in itself.

Christianity, Islam, and other Abrahamic religions view reality as created by God, with a deeper, spiritual reality beyond the physical world that is the focus of ultimate truth and salvation.

Scientific Approach:

The scientific revolution in the 17th century led to a shift in how humans viewed reality. Newtonian physics presented a deterministic, mechanistic view of the universe, where physical laws governed reality in a predictable way. However, as science advanced, especially in the 20th century, questions about the nature of reality became more complex:

Quantum mechanics introduced the idea that at the smallest scales, particles behave in ways that defy classical intuition, suggesting that reality might be much more uncertain and strange than previously thought.

Relativity theory challenged the traditional understanding of space and time, showing that the fabric of space-time is flexible and that the experience of reality depends on the observer’s perspective.

Contemporary Thought and Technology:

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the rise of philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence has brought new ways of questioning reality. For example:

The question of whether machines can have consciousness, and what that means for our understanding of consciousness and reality itself.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have created environments where it’s increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is “real” and what is “virtual,” pushing the boundaries of our understanding of reality.

Simulation theory, popularized by figures like philosopher Nick Bostrom, posits that reality might itself be a simulation created by an advanced civilization, echoing the ideas explored in science fiction and philosophy, like Descartes’ “evil demon” hypothesis or the “Matrix” movie.

The Nature of Perception:

Phenomenology, particularly the work of Edmund Husserl and later Martin Heidegger, emphasizes that our experience of reality is always subjective and mediated by our consciousness. We do not have direct access to the world “as it is” but only to the world as it appears to us.

Neuroscience has shown that perception itself is a construct of the brain. What we experience as reality is heavily influenced by our sensory input, cognitive processing, and prior knowledge.

Postmodernism and Relativism:

In the late 20th century, philosophers like Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, and Jacques Derrida argued that reality is socially and culturally constructed. According to postmodernism, there is no objective reality, only competing narratives or “realities” created by individuals and institutions. This perspective has been particularly influential in fields like literature, sociology, and cultural studies.

In sum, humans have grappled with the question of what is real in many different ways, exploring it through philosophy, religion, science, and technology. While the answers may vary, one common theme is that reality is often more complex and elusive than we might first assume, shaped by our perception, our minds, and our cultural and technological contexts.