--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we call reality is in fact nothing…" description: "\"What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/terence-mckenna-287_facts_what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing_2930784.png" --- # What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a… ![“What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/terence-mckenna-287_facts_what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing_2930784.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/terence-mckenna-287_facts_what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing_2930784.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/terence-mckenna-287_facts_what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing_2930784.png) > “What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reality is a shared illusion shaped by culture and language, not an objective truth. **In simple terms:** Reality is a cultural illusion. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions about truth. Themes philosophy perception culture Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - media analysis - personal introspection Key Concepts social constructivism linguistic relativity Questions to Reflect On - How do language and culture shape what you accept as real? - Can you imagine a reality without shared symbols? A Different Perspective It may overlook biological constraints on perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culturally Sanctioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culturally-sanctioned-4318597/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Hallucination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucination/) [Hallucinations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucinations/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-fact-3543928/) [Reinforced Hallucination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reinforced-hallucination-4318596/) ## Related quotes > [If you sit down with a person, or a watermelon for that matter, when you're stoned and sing into it, the quality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-sit-down-with-a-person-or-a-watermelon-for-that-matter-when/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [A hallucination is a species of reality, as capable of teaching you as a videotape about Kilimanjaro or anything else that falls through your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/a-hallucination-is-a-species-of-reality-as-capable-of-teaching-you-as/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [All psychedelic explorers should be aware of the concept of what is called a cognitive hallucination. The is a much more insidious phenomenon. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/all-psychedelic-explorers-should-be-aware-of-the-concept-of-what-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you actually look at the etymology of the word 'hallucination', what it's come to mean in English is a delusion. But what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-actually-look-at-the-etymology-of-the-word-hallucination-what/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/there-is-no-greater-mystery-than-this-that-we-keep-seeking-reality-2/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“What is comprehended is embedded into reality as fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/what-is-comprehended-is-embedded-into-reality-as-fact/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [No poetic phantasy but a biological reality, a fact: I am an entity like bird, insect, plant or sea-plant cell; I live; I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/no-poetic-phantasy-but-a-biological-reality-a-fact-i-am-an-entity/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [Modern humans became fixated on a collective hallucination of linear time, ignoring the fractal spirals of the surrounding universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/modern-humans-became-fixated-on-a-collective-hallucination-of-linear/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [“At this point, the sequence of my memories is disrupted. I sank into a chaos of brief, incoherent and bizarre hallucinations, in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/at-this-point-the-sequence-of-my-memories-is-disrupted-i-sank-into-a/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“Of course it had been an hallucination. But when hallucinations start behaving like realities, with a score of coincidences to back them up, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/of-course-it-had-been-an-hallucination-but-when-hallucinations-start/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [People are said to believe in God, or to disbelieve in Adam and Eve. But in such cases what is believed or disbelieved is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/people-are-said-to-believe-in-god-or-to-disbelieve-in-adam-and-eve/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The Graff Hallucination is a sculptural masterpiece; a celebration of the miracle of coloured diamonds. For many years I have thought about creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-graff/the-graff-hallucination-is-a-sculptural-masterpiece-a-celebration-of/) [Laurence Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-graff/) > [Memory creates a hallucination of the past, desire creates a hallucination of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/memory-creates-a-hallucination-of-the-past-desire-creates-a/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [I'm not completely sure we aren't all living in a hallucination now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-m-not-completely-sure-we-aren-t-all-living-in-a-hallucination-now/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [The hallucination of being a separate ego will not stand up to biological tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-hallucination-of-being-a-separate-ego-will-not-stand-up-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Facts quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [Le biologiste passe, la grenouille reste. The biologist passes, the frog remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/le-biologiste-passe-la-grenouille-reste-the-biologist-passes-the-frog/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) [Browse all 19,906 Facts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing-more-than-a-culturally/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Facts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing-more-than-a-culturally/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/terence-mckenna-287_facts_what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing_2930784.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/terence-mckenna-287_facts_what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing_2930784.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98b/terence-mckenna-287_facts_what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing_2930784.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What we call reality is in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing-more-than-a-culturally/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing-more-than-a-culturally/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```