Psychology of Perception

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Languages incorporate values and beliefs. [¹].  Hence perception is fundamental to the process of creating values and beliefs. Even the person who is born blind learns their values and beliefs from visually-sighted family members.

In a previous article I described  the loop of projection and introjection.  How does it relate to perception?  Is this loop as fundamental as perception, or less so?

I consider the ideas of Franz Brentano.
In 1874 he published a book in which he attempted to analyse the initial conditions of perception. He cites the opinions of contemporary writers. The idea that there was an unconscious component to mind was discussed well before Freud’s time. Brentano weighed up the pros and cons of the belief in an unconscious mind ; he rejected it, since for him it was a philosophically absurd idea. Alas, his opinion merely shows up the limitations of rationalism. Hence he could not deal with the unconscious components of perception.

For Brentano the beginning of perception is the image in the mind which arises when something interests the person. This image requires a mental act to present that image to the mind. There are two other components as well. There is a judgement about the image, and a feeling towards the image.

Hence, for Brentano, the mental act that presents the image to the mind has three components associated simultaneously with it :

• The image itself, which is the content of the perception.

• A judgement which refers to the image.

• A feeling of pleasure or displeasure which we feel towards the image.

This is as much of Brentano’s analysis that I need, and I dispute some of it. But in sorting out where I disagreed with him I was able to develop my own ideas.

Act of Presentation or Close Perception

First of all, we have to consider the mental act of presentation ; does it really occur, and if so, does it always occur?

Bertrand Russell could not detect the act, so he rejected this part of Brentano’s thought. Yet they both claimed to be empiricists. Their disagreement simply shows that empiricism is actually the hardest part of philosophy.

If the philosopher does not grasp the facts of a phenomenon then his rationalist thoughts about it may be plausible and pleasing, but they will be erroneous. The rationalist mind is narrow in its outlook and so needs empiricism in order to expand the person’s range of experience. The controversies between empiricism and rationalism, whether between different thinkers or between parts of the mind of one thinker (the influence of the left side of the brain versus the influence of the right side of it) are part of the fun of philosophy.

Now when I walk along the path into town I am preoccupied with my thoughts. The passing scenery registers on my mind but I pay little attention to it – only enough attention so as to be able to follow the path and avoid obstructions. My mind is passive towards the scenery: all that I am aware of is visual impressions with vague boundaries. However, if something attracts my attention then I look closely at it. Now the vague background transforms into a clear image, which can be called the ‘foreground’ image. It is at the moment when my attention is stimulated that the mental act occurs. So the mental act of presentation is the generation of a clear foreground image because my interest has been stimulated.

Essentially then, the mind is passive towards the external world until something attracts attention. Then an act of presentation occurs ; an alternative name for this act is an act of close perception. Thus the act occurs, but it does not always occur.

To understand the last statement, consider reverie. When I am absorbed in reverie, whatever images register on my eyes’ retinae do not register in my mind. So sensory images do not necessarily produce an act of observation. However, even reverie starts from a mental act. The interest in my own thoughts generates the act whereby I enter reverie and focus on internal stimuli.

First Summary :

Ordinary perception is passive. In this situation there is no act, just impressions as background content. But when I switch my attention to something, this switch is the act.

In the following sequences, the arrow symbol can be read as ‘leads to’, so that passive observation leads to the interest in the situation, which then leads to the act of attention, etc.

In my view, the other two components that Brentano associated with the mental act – the judgement and the feeling – arise after the act and not simultaneously with it. The judgement on the image is either one of good or evil, or of truth or falsity. The judgement comes before the feeling.

For example: suppose that two people, Jim and Tom, walk down the high street in town. They see a mother slap a child and make it cry. Jim takes the child’s side and mentally criticises the mother for her violence ; the incident arouses the feeling of displeasure in him. Tom sides with the mother, and mentally criticises the child ; he feels pleasure at the correction of unruly behaviour. Here we have one image, and two different interpretations, two different feelings. Hence judgement arises before feeling. If it were the other way around we should expect similar interpretations always.

Second Summary :

The close observation of the foreground image is followed by a judgement on that image. Then the judgement allows the person to generate the requisite feeling towards the image. If the image is agreeable or truthful, the pleasant feeling arises ; if the image is disagreeable to the person, or if he finds it to be inaccurate or deceptive, then displeasure ensues.

Final Summary

But now, having arrived at feeling, we go straight into the loop of projection and introjection : our expectations or aspirations or desires now come into play. I repeat the loop for convenience (from the article Projection and Introjection).

Diagram 3 :
Primary Loop of Projection and Introjection

The act of perception has led us to this loop. Therefore the complete sequence of perception is as given in
Diagram 5: Psychology of Perception. (in a separate window).

If the act switches on my internal reverie then the loop features what I am thinking about. If the act switches me to the external world then the loop features my views and expectations about what I am observing or relating to.

The sequence in diagram 5  is the psychological view of perception because it involves a judgement which then leads to psychological states of desire and emotion. However, if we stop short of making any judgement, then the sequence of perception ends with the foreground content. Now we experience mindfulness, or ‘non-judgemental’ perception.

Before I proceed further, I need to give two definitions. In my articles I use both the terms "unconscious mind" and "subconscious mind". The difference between them is this: 

I use the term  subconscious mind for what is personal to the individual,
and the term  unconscious mind for what is general to humanity.

In my view, the process of perception has two parts to it.
The sequence from passive observation to foreground content is the unconscious part. Then the continuation, from judgement to the loop of projection and introjection, is the subconscious part since it deals with the hidden intentions and expectations of the person. [²]

Within this process, the most important section is the second part : the links between foreground content, judgement and feeling. What is happening here?

In effect, we form a judgement after seeing the foreground content. Then we summon up an appropriate emotion to fit the judgement. Then we use that emotional influence as a means of replaying our expectations or aspirations or desires : that is, we use the content to summon up an habitual response. The loop of projection and introjection has switched on. This way, we can dramatise our mundane actions and avoid boredom.

This overall response is the way that we handle our usual situations of everyday life. For each situation, we subconsciously create a response which becomes automatic and habitual. When we get tired with replaying the same drama to any particular situation, then we have ‘learned from that situation’ and can move on to choosing a more creative response.

The loop of projection and introjection is a sign of immaturity, or perhaps just a wish for drama in one’s life.

The conclusion from these thoughts is that if something (or someone) arouses a desire or an emotion in us, then we are not perceiving that something (or someone) accurately as it is in itself.

The number in brackets at the end of each reference takes you back to the paragraph that featured it. The addresses of my other websites are on the Links page.

[¹]. I have several articles on Language in section 6 of my philosophy website  A Modern Thinker. [1]

[²]. The unconscious mind and the subconscious mind are defined in the first article on Emotion.

The use of these terms is illustrated in the article Characteristics of a Psycho-analysis, section Levels of the Mind, on my website  The Subconscious Mind. [2] 

An article on the relativity of perception is on my philosophy website, A Modern Thinker. The title of the article is  The Relativity of the Ego.

Books

Brentano, Franz. Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint. 1874

The articles in this section are :

Copyright @2003  Ian Heath
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