There is no rational scientific way to know the true nature of anything. Everything we perceive is just perception of reality, not reality itself. Reality exists independent of observation, but can't be seen.
Observation changes reality.
Hill climbing algorithm trying to find the highest point of the ocean. Even on land, the landscape changes slowly over time. The scientific method has been useful , however. It has provided an understanding of realilty which has been beneficial to mankind for the last 200 years. Play serves no moral code except that strange code which, for some unknown reason, imposes itself on the play.