Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much we, as humans, can truly understand reality . Not just in terms of science, but on a deeper, almost metaphysical level. It feels like everything we experience is filtered through our senses, our brains, and the ways we’ve been taught to think. What if we’re only seeing a fraction of what actually exists?
Are We Stuck in a Constructed Reality?
Thinkers like Kant argued that we never actually perceive reality as it is—we only experience our own interpretation of it. Space, time, even causality might not exist the way we think they do, but rather as mental structures we impose on the world.
Then there’s Berkeley, who went even further, saying that material reality itself might not exist—only our perceptions of it. It makes me wonder: how much of what we take as “real” is actually just a human-made model ?
Even modern physics hints at something deeper. The holographic principle suggests that everything we see in three dimensions might just be encoded on a two-dimensional surface . If that’s true, are we actually experiencing reality at all?
God and the Limits of Human Understanding
Now, if God exists as an infinite, all-knowing being, that means our perception of the universe must be incomplete by default. Maybe our senses and thoughts aren’t designed to grasp the full picture.
Some religious and mystical traditions suggest that when we die, we’ll finally see everything as it truly is —beyond the limitations of human perception. NDE (near-death experience) accounts are interesting because they often describe a sudden, overwhelming sense of clarity, peace, and understanding . Could it be that our minds are built with filters, and only in death do those filters get removed?
Is Reality Like a Game?
One way I’ve started thinking about all this is by comparing the world to a game .
- Objects in physics don’t just sit there—they have potential energy , like a game object waiting for an interaction
- Gravity, motion, and even time follow structured, consistent rules , almost like a physics engine.
- What if reality isn’t a random, chaotic mess but instead a deliberate system designed by something greater ?
That would explain why we feel limited—why things don’t always make sense—because we’re inside the system , not outside of it. We can learn the rules, but we can’t change them.
What Do You Think?
If we accept that our perception of reality is limited, then what does that mean for philosophy, science, and even spirituality? Are we meant to seek a deeper truth, even if we know we’ll never fully grasp it? And if so, is that search itself part of our purpose?
I’d love to hear different perspectives on this, whether from a materialist, existentialist, or purely scientific point of view. Where do you stand?
