Perception

a material world is based on clear and distinct perception. One can observe that they are sitting down, or that there is a table in front of them. However, in the face of Descartes’ deceiver hypothesis (Descartes/Cottingham, p. 17), all perception is called into doubt. How does one know (or at least have a reasonable belief) that the physical world exists, that a ‘malicious demon’ (Descartes/Cottingham, p. 19) is not fabricating our sense perceptions? In the eyes of Descartes’ hypothesis, one…

Perception is just one of the ways in which humans can attempt to understand all that we claim to know. Put simply, perception is defined as our entire understanding of things, including our opinions. The way we perceive our surroundings is swayed by several factors, including past experiences, common sense realism, bias, and even the context in which an event is to occur. Malcom Gladwell’s chapter concerning the Bronx shooting from his book Blink illustrates the idea that many factors - along…

This article is titled “Perceptions of harm from secondhand smoke exposure among U.S. adults, 2009-2010”, and it was written by Judy Kruger, Roshni Patel, Michelle Kegler, Steven D. Babb, and Brian A. King. The authors firstly explained that secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure causes heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and suden infant death syndrome, middle ear infections, and severe asthma in children. As well, this has caused more than 41,000 deaths among US nonsmokers.…

brain system that provides for the temporary storage and manipulation of information necessary for some of our more complex cognitive tasks. If we are to interpret this definition in terms of our perceptions and experiences, we will say that our working memory is the method through which our perceptions are able to be translated into our experiences. Therefore, when we perceive these short momentary points in time, these are encoded into our working memory, which helps us produce a…

concepts from The Matrix to the ideology in the excerpts by Plato and Descartes a common theme is the realization that the world is all a sensory illusion by which an elaborate system of deception can perpetrate individuals to a common belief or perception. One of the main points that is shared between the excerpt by Plato/Descartes and the synopsis of The Matrix is that everything around us is perceived through our senses. Yet, because each individual perceives the world in a different aspect,…

discovery, may provoke profound re-evaluations challenging personal perceptions, and beliefs. Robert Frost', poem “A Tuft of Flowers,” engages with feelings of isolation, whereby nature catalyses a new outlook on ourselves and the world by challenging our previously held assumptions. The ramifications of discovering mortality and the limitations of life are also explored in the poem “After Apple picking,” influencing our perceptions of our place in the world surrounding us. Similarly Hattie…

It is the shared experiences that we impart with and our personal perceptions of the world around us that truly influence our ability to find a sense of belonging. The level of belonging we identify with is directly governed by these intrinsic values that we uphold. In the memoir “Romulus, My Father” (1998) by Raimond Gaita, these ideas are explored through the protagonist, Raimond Gaita and his promiscuous mother, Christine, as their separate ideals and views become juxtaposed to demonstrate…

Conduct) par 4-14 was revised and implemented regarding “Relationships between Soldiers of different grade”. The AR strictly states “Soldiers of different grades must be cognizant that their interactions do not create an actual or clearly predictable perception of undue familiarity between an officer and an enlisted Soldier, or between an NCO and a junior-enlisted Soldier. Examples of familiarity between Soldiers that may become “undue” can include repeated visits to bars, nightclubs, eating…

the self and mind can be to be true while the outside world does not exist. While my belief may seem to be very similar to this, it differs in numerous important aspects. My belief revolves around the idea that our reality is dependent upon our perception of it. This being true, it would signify that we all live in our own reality according to how our mind built it. Of course, with the application and invention of tools…

to say how that knowledge appears. The Ways of Knowing are the methods through which knowledge becomes apparent to us. There are eight different ways of knowing: Language, Sense Perception, Emotion, Reason, Imagination, Faith, Intuition, and Memory. This essay will analyse two ways of knowing: Reason and Sense Perception. One way of acquiring new knowledge about the world is by using reason. Most people would tell you that they are reasonable, but definitions of reason vary greatly amongst the…