Core of the Standard Definition
In the standard model, perception is usually understood as the process of transforming sensory signals into an internal representation of the world.
Basic scheme:
1. An external world is assumed as given.
2. Sense organs receive signals.
3. The brain processes the input.
4. Filtering, feature extraction, and integration occur.
5. An internal model of the world is formed.
Where “Assembly” Is Already Present in the Model Itself
Even in standard terminology, perception is described as assembly:
– feature detection: detecting features;
– integration: combining;
– pattern recognition: recognizing patterns.
Example from vision: contours, movement, color, and depth are combined into an object.
The Key Substitution
The problematic transition looks like this:
1. “The brain assembles a representation”;
2. this representation then begins to be treated as
3. “We see the world as it actually is.”
Thus the boundary between model and reality is often blurred.
What Is Left Unspoken
Strictly speaking, what follows from this scheme is:
– signals are processed;
– a model is constructed;
– but there is no direct access to “things in themselves.”
The Distinction Between Two Frameworks
Standard Framework
- The world already exists as a set of objects.
- Perception reconstructs them.
Alternative Framework
- Initially there is a field without pre-given objects.
- Perception assembles stable forms.
- An object is the result of an operation of distinction and assembly, rather than an initial given.
Brief Answer
In the standard model, perception is a process of constructing an internal model of the world from sensory data through filtering, feature detection, and their combination into objects.
The Weak Point in the Standard Approach
The weakness lies not in the description of the mechanics of processing, but in the epistemic leap: the constructed model is implicitly presented as the structure of reality itself.
Sharply Reformulated
Perception can be described as a mechanism for assembling (summing) distinctions into stable forms that are then taken to be objects of reality.
Broad Pattern
The same scheme recurs in other disciplines:
1. An operation is performed.
2. A form is obtained.
3. The form is declared a property of the world.
