Multistable perception

It is often thought that humans can receive all the information that invades their senses, however, it is fact they are not able to process all of the received information. Humans must selectively choose what information to perceive and ignore irrelevant information. Two questions are raised, therefore: what allows us to selectively attend information and what happens to unattended information, is it proceeded to any extend or not proceeded at all? Recently, the phenomenon of negative-priming

This essay will refer only to the three texts given here: M.M.P - Maurice Merleau-Ponty, The Primacy of Perception and Its Philosophical Consequences E.H - Edmund Husserl, Pure Phenomenology, Its Method, and Its Field of Investigation M.H - Martin Heidegger, The Fundamental Discoveries of Phenomenology, Its Principle, and the Clarification of Its Name Pure phenomenology takes as given the existence of an intersubjective world(1), ("the totality of perceptible things and the thing of all

infer effects from them. We have only two ways of doing that, either by an immediate perception of our memory or senses, called impressions, or, by an inference from other causes, called thoughts. For example, “A man finding a watch or any other machine in a desert island would conclude that there had once been men in that island” (160). Regardless of the source of the impression, the imagination and perceptions of the senses are the foundation for the reasoning that traces the relation of cause

The topic of the mind and how do we know has been around since the beginning of time. It is one of those questions that will most likely never be answered. I mean, the mind itself is so perplexing that we are still learning stuff about it daily. One question that Descartes proposed was “how do we know?” we still are pondering this one today. We ask it almost every day, maybe not in that way but in some form or another. So honestly, how do we know? Whenever Descartes started studying

the changing of a traffic light evoked a bell like sound. Coloured Olfaction - where smell evokes the sensation of colour. For example the smell of garlic may be perceived as a blaze of orange. Coloured Gustation - where taste evokes the perception of colour. Something salty may be experienced as red, something sweet as bluish/purple. Tactile Gustation - where the taste of something is experienced as shape. Grapefruit may be a twisted triangle, other citrus fruits may have similar triangular

‘truth’ versus ‘perception’ can be observed in nearly all aspects of life. What is the truth these days; in newspaper articles, current affair shows or stories that a friend is telling you, is it truth or is it a version of the truth? The complexities inherent in this concept of ‘truth’ versus ‘perception’ will be discussed in relation to two texts; “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose, and, “After the First Death” by Robert Cormier. What is the key difference between ‘truth’ and ‘perception’, and which

Helen Keller: A Medical Marvel or Evidence of the I-Function? Everyone cried a little inside when Helen Keller, history's notorious deaf-blind-mute uttered that magic word 'wa' at the end of the scientifically baffling classic true story. Her ability to overcome the limitations caused by her sensory disabilities not only brought hope for many like cases, but also raised radical scientific questions as to the depth of the brain's ability. For those who are not familiar with the

Rene Descartes was one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the philosophy. Born in 1596, he lived to become a great mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. In fact, he became one of the central intellectual figures of the sixteen hundreds. He is believed by some to be the father of modern philosophy, although he was hampered by living in a time when other prominent scientists, such as Galileo, were persecuted for their discoveries and beliefs. Although this probably had an impact

Descartes’ Cogito It is the purpose of this essay to examine both Descartes’ Cogito argument and his skepticism towards small and universal elements, as well as the implications these arguments have on each other. First, I will summarize and explain the skepticism Descartes’ brings to bear on small and universal elements in his first meditation. Second, I will summarize and explain the Cogito argument, Descartes’ famous “I think, therefore I am” (it should be noted that this famous

Descartes' Wax Passage How do we know what we know? Ideas reside in the minds of intelligent beings, but a clear perception of where these ideas come from is often the point of debate. It is with this in mind that René Descartes set forth on the daunting task to determine where clear and distinct ideas come from. A particular passage written in Meditations on First Philosophy known as the wax passage shall be examined. Descartes' thought process shall be followed, and the central point