The Case Against Reality

The Case Against Reality argues that human perception is an adaptive interface, not a transparent window onto objective reality, drawing on evolutionary game theory, neuroscience, and philosophy to support this bold claim. Donald D. Hoffman shows how natural selection favors species that see useful “icons” for survival rather than the truth, comparing everyday objects to symbolic desktop folders that hide underlying complexity. The book invites readers to rethink space, time, and physical objects themselves, suggesting that what we experience as the world is a constructed interface shaped by conscious agents.