TOK PERCEPTION A REVIEW OF ALL SO FAR..... - Empiricism Common sense realism Perception as a complex process; sensation + INTERPRETATION The role of context and expectations on interpretation Perception is SELECTIVE Influences on selection –.... EMOTIONS, EDUCATION Seeing is believing or vice-versa? Eye-witness testimony. What are the implications for real-life??
Empiricism All knowledge is ultimately based on perceptual experience
Common-sense realism Perception is passive and gives us an accurate picture of reality Do you think our senses give us an accurate picture of how the world really is? There follow examples of how our senses can trick us. 3
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Perception is a complex process Sensation and interpretation Perception depends very much on how we interpret what our senses show us. 5
Interpretation: Context The context tells us that the man is not actually holding the sun! 6
Interpretation: Expectations We expect it to make sense so do not notice the extra “the” 7
Interpretation: Expectations The following four slides will be shown very quickly. Try to remember what the four cards are. The six of spades is shown as red. Because we don’t expect that most will see it as the six of hearts or diamonds. 8
Can you name them?
Can you name them?
Selectivity of perception Discuss in groups how the following picture would be interpreted through the eyes of a biologist, logger, environmentalist, a native American?
Selectivity of perception - emotion There’s someone for everyone. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder? DISCUSS 16
Seeing the world clearly? In what emotional state do we see the world clearest? Why? In groups they discuss if emotions can cloud our jedgement etc. Why? Shouldn’t we have evolved to see clearest when frightened?! 17
Selectivity of perception - education What do you see? What would a doctor see? Doctor sees sickle cell anameia 18
Selectivity of perception - education What do you see? What would a musician see? Musician sees very unusual key signature and different key in the two piano parts (very unusual) 19
Selectivity of perception - education What do you taste? What would a wine expert taste?
Seeing/believing In the 19th century scientists believed there is a planet between Mercury and the sun. Some believed it so much they said they had seen it in their telescopes. No such planet exists. Example of seeing what you believe to be there 21
Seeing/believing Jesus? 22
Eye witnesses YouTube - Impossible eye witness funny sketch - A Bit of Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie – BBC The you tube has an exercise they can do to see how good eye witnesses they are. 23
Distinguishing appearance from reality How can we trust our senses?
Confirmation by another sense It looks like poo, it smells like poo. I’ll taste it just to make sure. Confirmation by another sense If confirmed by another sense we can be surer. 25
Coherence We know pigs don’t normally fly. 26
Independent testimony More than one person saw it. 27