Context, inference, concepts, experience, and interpretation are required. Context is the background information that is needed to figure out "what is the case". Inference is using our prior knowledge and experience to make an educated conclusion. Concepts, like basic laws of nature and life are needed to see what is the case as well. Experience in life is needed, which gives more background knowledge and also a deeper understanding. Interpretation is also required, that is using what you know to try and understand something. You need to make sense of information you're given.
4. What did Nietzsche mean by 'the fallacy of the immaculate perception'? How does psychologist, Joseph Jastrow prove this point? When have we done this in class?
Nietzsche meant that perception is not definite, you can’t look at something once and know that it is the one and only correct way to perceive that thing. You have to add to your sense datum in order to gather enough information. Jastrow proves this point with an image that can be seen as either a duck or a rabbit, depending on how you look at it. In class last week we did a perception test that showed blocks, which depending on how you looked at, appeared as 6 or 7 blocks, but not both at the same time.
7. What does Abel mean when he says, "to perceive is to solve a problem"?
When we perceive we are trying to figure out what we are
sensing. We gather different types of
sense datum, using our brain to arrange the data we have and disregard stimuli,
to assign color, shape, etc. to what we are seeing.
8. What is the role of social conditioning in determining how things 'naturally look'?
Every society has their own ideas about perception and
the way things “naturally look”. Distortions and abstractions are part of the
society and they people in the society aren’t aware of these flaws in their
perception.
9. What is significant about the Durer rhinoceros story? How was the influence of 'convention' influence perspective drawing?
The significance of the rhinoceros story is how much people can be influenced by convention. Durer was influenced by and relied on his imagination and 2nd hand information when he made his model of a rhinoceros, and James Bruce was influenced not only by Durer's model but also how his own perception and idea of how a rhinoceros should look, rather than what he was seeing. Convention influences perspective drawing because many people when drawing, draw what they want to see, or feel they should see, rather than what they really see. They are influenced by convention of perspective.
11. What does Abel mean when he write, "believing is seeing"? How may this point be seen in the study of the natural versus the social sciences?
Abel means that if we believe something enough in or minds, either we've been taught it or been convinced that something is true, we can convince ourselves that we see what we believe. This can be true even if what we think we see, isn't what we're actually seeing. A social science example is that there are people who can convince others that 2 unequal lines are equal, because they believe that they are equal so much that they see it. In natural sciences there are many examples of people being influenced by what they believe, that convince them that they see things that aren't there. Many astronomers were convinced that they saw a planet "Vulcan" in the sky, but that planet does not exist. They convinced themselves that the planet existed, and then were able to "see" it.
