YOUR MIND AND HOW TO USE IT/PART 6
CHAPTER VI.
Perception.
IT
is a common mistake that we perceive everything that is
reported to the mind by the senses. As a matter of fact we perceive but a very
small portion of the reports of the senses. There are thousands of sights
reported by our eyes, sounds reported by our ears, smells reported by our
nostrils, and contacts reported by our nerves of touch, every day of our lives,
but which are not perceived or observed by
the mind. We perceive and observe only when the attention, reflex or voluntary,
is directed to the report of the senses, and when the mind interprets the
report. While perception depends upon the reports of the senses for its raw
material, it depends entirely upon the application of the mind for its complete
manifestation.
The
student usually experiences great difficulty in distinguishing between sensation and perception.
A sensation is a simple report of the senses, which is received in
consciousness. Perception is the thought arising from
the feeling of the sensation. Perception usually combines
several sensations into one thought or percept. By sensation the mind feels;
by perception it knows that it feels, and recognizes the
object causing the sensation. Sensation merely brings a report from outside
objects, while perception identifies the report with the object which caused
it. Perception interprets the reports of sensation. Sensation
reports a flash of light from above; perception interprets the light as
starlight, or moonlight, or sunlight, or as the flash of a meteor. Sensation
reports a sharp, pricking, painful contact; perception interprets it as the
prick of a pin. Sensation reports a red spot on a green background; perception
interprets it as a berry on a bush.
Moreover,
while we may perceive a simple single sensation, our perceptions are usually of
a group of sensations. Perception is usually employed in grouping sensations
and identifying them with the object or objects causing them. In its
identification it draws upon whatever memory of past experiences the mind may
possess. Memory, imagination, feeling, and thought are called into play, to
some extent, in every clear perception. The infant has but feeble perception,
but as it gains experience it begins to manifest perceptions and form percepts.
Sensations resemble the letters of the alphabet, and perception the forming of
words and sentences from the letters. Thus c, a,
and t symbolize sensations, while the word "cat,"
formed from them, symbolizes the perception of the object.
It
is held that all knowledge begins with sensation; that the mental history of the
race or individual begins with its first sensation. But, while this is
admitted, it must be remembered that sensation simply provides the simple,
elementary, raw material of thought. The first process of actual
thought, or knowledge, begins with perception. From our percepts all of our
higher concepts and ideas are formed. Perception depends upon association of
the sensation with other sensations previously experienced; it is based upon
experience. The greater the experience, the greater is the possibility of
perception, all else being equal.
When
perception begins, the mind loses sight of the sensation in itself, for it
identifies it as a quality of the thing producing it. The sensation of light is
thought of as a quality of the star; the pricking sensation is thought of as a
quality of the pin or chestnut bur; the sensation of odor is thought of as a
quality of the rose. In the case of the rose, the several sensations of sight,
touch, and smell, in their impression of the qualities of color, shape, softness,
and perfume, are grouped together in the percept of the complete object of the
flower.
A percept is
"that which is perceived; the object of the act of perception." The
percept, of course, is a mental state corresponding with its outside object.
It is a combination of several sensations which are regarded as the
qualities of the outside object, to which are combined the memories of past
experiences, ideas, feelings, and thoughts. A percept, then, while the simplest
form of thought, is seen to be a mental state. The formation of a percept
consists of three gradual stages, viz.: (1) The attention forms definite
conscious sensations from indefinite nervous reports; (2) the mind interprets
these definite conscious sensations and attributes them to the outside object
causing them; (3) the related sensations are grouped together, their unity
perceived, and they are regarded as qualities of the outside object.
The
plain distinction between a sensation and a percept may be fixed in the mind by
remembering the following: A sensation is a feeling; a
percept is a simple thought identifying one or more sensations. A sensation
is merely the conscious recognition of an excitation of a nerve end; a percept
results from a distinct mental process regarding the sensation.
Developing
Perception.
It
is of the utmost importance that we develop and train our powers of perception.
For our education depends very materially upon our perceptive power. What
matters it to us if the outside world be filled with manifold objects, if
we do not perceive them to exist? Upon perception depends the material of our
mental world. Many persons go through the world without perceiving even the
most obvious facts. Their eyes and ears are perfect instruments, their nerves
convey accurate reports, but the perceptive faculties of the mind fail to
observe and interpret the report of the senses. They see and hear distinctly,
but the reports of the senses are not observed or noted by them; they mean
nothing to them. One may see many things, and yet observe but
few. It is not upon what we see or hear that our stock of knowledge depends, so
much as it does upon what we perceive, notice, or observe.
Not
only is one's stock of practical knowledge largely based upon developed
perception, but one's success also depends materially upon the same faculties.
In business and professional life the successful man is usually he who has
developed perceptive powers; he who has learned to perceive, observe, and note.
The man who perceives and takes mental notes of what occurs in his world is the
man who is apt to know things when such knowledge is needed. In this age of
"book education" we find that the young people are not nearly so
observant as are those children who had to depend upon the powers of perception
for their knowledge. The young Arab or Indian will observe more in an hour than
the civilized child will in a day. To live in a world of books tends, in
many cases, to weaken the powers of observation and perception.
Perception
may be developed by practice. Begin by taking notice of the things seen and
heard in your usual walks. Keep wide open the eyes of the mind. Notice the
faces of people, their walk, their characteristics. Look for interesting and
odd things, and you will see them. Do not go through life in a daydream, but
keep a sharp lookout for things of interest and value. The most familiar things
will repay you for the time and work of examining them in detail, and the
practice gained by such tasks will prove valuable in your development of perception.
An
authority remarks that very few persons, even those living in the country, know
whether a cow's ears are above, below, behind, or in front of her horns; nor
whether cats descend trees head first or tail first. Very few persons can
distinguish between the leaves of the various kinds of familiar trees in their
neighborhood. Comparatively few persons are able to describe the house in which
they live, at least beyond the most general features—the details are unknown.
Houdin,
the French conjurer, was able to pass by a shop window and perceive every
article in it, and then repeat what he had seen. But he acquired this
skill only by constant and gradual practice. He himself decried his skill
and claimed that it was as nothing compared to that of the fashionable woman
who can pass another woman on the street and "take in" her entire
attire, from head to foot, at one glance, and "be able to describe not
only the fashion and quality of the stuffs, but also say if the lace be real or
only machine made." A former president of Yale is said to have been able
to glance at a book and read a quarter of a page at one time.
Any
study or occupation which requires analysis will develop the
power of perception. Consequently, if we will analyze the things we see,
resolving them into their parts or elements, we will likewise develop the
perceptive faculties. It is a good exercise to examine some small object and
endeavor to discover as many separate points of perception as possible, noting
them on a sheet of paper. The most familiar object, if carefully examined, will
yield rich returns.
If
two persons will enter into a contest of this kind, the spirit of rivalry and
competition will quicken the powers of observation. Those who have had the
patience and perseverance to systematically practice exercises of this kind,
report that they notice a steady improvement from the very start. But even if
one does not feel inclined to practice in this way, it will be found
possible to begin to take notice of the details of things one
sees, the expression of persons' faces, the details of their dress, their tone
of voice, the quality of the goods we handle, and the little things
especially. Perception, like attention, follows interest; but, likewise,
interest may be created in things by observing their details, peculiarities,
and characteristics.
The
best knowledge gained by one is that resulting from his own personal
perception. There is a nearness and trueness about that which one knows in
this way which is lacking in that which he merely believes because
he has read or heard it. One can make such knowledge a part of himself. Not
only is one's knowledge dependent upon what he perceives, but his very
character also results from the character of his percepts. The influence of
environment is great—and what is environment but things perceived about one? It
is not so much what lies outside of one, as what part of it gets inside of
one by perception. By directing his attention to desirable objects, and
perceiving as much of them as is possible, one really builds his own character
at will.
The
world needs good "perceivers" in all the walks of life. It finds a
shortage of them, and is demanding them loudly, being willing to pay a good
price for their services. The person who can voluntarily perceive
and observe the details of any profession, business, or trade will go far
in that vocation. The education of children should take the faculty of
perception into active consideration. The kindergarten has taken some steps in
this direction, but there is much more to be done.
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