Perception is the experiencing of sensory information.
Perception is a traditional fairly-established scientific term. It’s the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information into experience. More meaningful experiences are often retained longer.
In Chapter 17 of 30 Philosophers, I explore the difference between senses and perceptions. While senses give you direct information, your perception gives you indirect understanding.
Think detect, process, and respond, as in airbags in cars, Venus flytraps, and animal reflexes. All three process sensory information, but that alone does not establish mental perception or thinking. Instincts and reflexes in animals do not necessarily involve thinking, but their results can contribute to cognition in a mind. Whether they leave an impression or contribute to an idea is another subject.
A sense detects information about the external world or the internal state of the body. Perception uses that sensory information. This can include categorizing what is sensed. Minds use sensing and perception, and both often contribute to the forming of an impression.
A sense detects information about the external world or the internal state of the body. Perception uses that sensory information. This can include categorizing what is sensed. Minds use sensing and perception, and both often contribute to the formation of an impression. One way to define the emergence of a mind, to define a mind, is the ability to perceive.
