Understanding the Nature of Human Perception

Understanding the Nature of Human Perception

  • Submitted By: RodParsa
  • Date Submitted: 12/11/2008 6:40 PM
  • Category: Philosophy
  • Words: 610
  • Page: 3
  • Views: 1

Rod Parsa November 07, 2008

Is reality independent of perception, or does perception define reality?

Before delving into this issue, I feel it is important to truly understand what is being asked by defining the key terms. I take perception as the existence of the faculty of senses working alongside our mind, our ideology, and our preconceptions. The real puzzle, however, is reality. How does one define reality? I guess that is what this journal is meant to address. People often confuse reality with existence. However, the term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible, and may or may not include "nothingness". In colloquial usage, I am a firm believer that "my reality is not your reality". In other words, a given individual's perception on a certain circumstance is independently valid of another individual's perception on the same circumstance. Because every single person sees through different eyes, hears through different ears, grew up in different settings, feels different moods, etc, there seem to exist an infinite amount of perceptional views in any given circumstance. And of course, why limit our scope to the human world? Animals experience the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste and sound, in many cases more powerfully, just as humans do, so just like that more points of view are added to the notion of "what really happened". However, people seem to like to believe that there really is a so-called "objective" truth, a collection of facts that would provide an undisputable point of view. However, just as the tree falling in the deserted forest would make no sound, I believe the unperceived fact does not exist. Webster's Dictionary defines fact as "a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true". This raises the issue of observation and experience, which leads us straight back to the idea of perception, reality and truth. Perhaps, if the...

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