Is Reality Real?

In this episode, Dr. Jocelyn Michel, D.Ac-CHM, begins with a documented moment from 1763, when Samuel Johnson kicked a stone to "refute" the philosopher George Berkeley. From there, she looks at how our senses render the world, from the blind spot in every eye to a photo of a dress that split the internet, to a simple mirror box that eased pain in a hand that wasn't there. She takes a fair look at Donald Hoffman's book The Case Against Reality, along with Kant, the simulation hypothesis, and the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics. Then she shows the twist: using science to argue that reality isn't real undercuts the science itself. Science has to assume three things before it can begin: something is there, it behaves consistently, and we can know it. A map is not the land, but a good map can still bring us home. That's why we test, repeat, and compare notes, and why pain can be fully real and still shaped by the brain. This week's practice: when you notice a strong reaction, pause and ask, "Is this what's there, or how I'm seeing it?" References Bostrom, N. (2003). Are you living in a computer simulation? The Philosophical Quarterly, 53(211), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9213.00309 Boswell, J. (1791). The life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Charles Dilly. Hoffman, D. D. (2019). The case against reality: Why evolution hid the truth from our eyes. W. W. Norton. Kant, I. (1998). Critique of pure reason (P. Guyer & A. W. Wood, Trans.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1781) Korzybski, A. (1933). Science and sanity: An introduction to non-Aristotelian systems and general semantics. International Non-Aristotelian Library. Nin, A. (1961). Seduction of the minotaur. Swallow Press. Plantinga, A. (1993). Warrant and proper function. Oxford University Press. Prakash, C., Stephens, K. D., Hoffman, D. D., Singh, M., & Fields, C. (2021). Fitness beats truth in the evolution of perception. Acta Biotheoretica, 69(3), 319–341. Ramachandran, V. S., & Rogers-Ramachandran, D. (1996). Synaesthesia in phantom limbs induced with mirrors. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 263(1369), 377–386. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1996.0058 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. (2022, October 4). The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 [Press release]. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2022/press-release/ This podcast is for education and inspiration and is not medical advice. Listening does not create a practitioner-patient relationship. Dr. Jocelyn Michel, D.Ac-CHM, is licensed as an acupuncturist in Wisconsin, USA. Please talk with your own healthcare provider before making changes to your care. Guest views are their own. Some links may be affiliate links. Full disclaimer: https://www.healingpathacupuncture.info/legal