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Realism, Reality and Perception

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Write out your definition of reality? How is reality perceived? Is there more to the universe than meets the eye? How do you know?

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Solution Summary

Realism, Reality and Perception is explored and explained from a socio-philosophical viewpoint in this solution. Psychological ideas in relation to cognition is also explored. The 1,200 plus word essay also provides a reflective narrative on personal reality perception examining how one 'knows' via experience. The solution follows the APA format. A word version is attached for easy printing. References are provided.

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Hello Student,
The passage below is a narrative I have written regarding my own personal view of reality. I am not quite sure how you perceive reality but I know that the solution below will be of help to you regarding the question above. Good luck!

Sincerely,
OTA 105878/Xenia Jones

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Realism, Reality and Perception

I believe the world is real as related through my senses. Realists believe that the information attained through the senses is accurate - reality then is the world perceived via the senses. Aquinas (1274) posited, "Sense, then, has no false knowledge about its proper objects, except accidentally and rarely, and then because of an indisposition in the organ it does not receive the sensible form rightly". Following this statement, Aquinas provides the example of a sick person and how their tastes are altered during the time of their illness. But assuming the senses have not been damaged or altered, we can rely on our sense data being accurate. I rely on the data collected from my five senses of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling to progress through my life on a daily basis. On a given weekday morning I wake up to the sound of my alarm, and then I rely on my eyesight to turn off the alarm and get out of bed. Soon after that, I begin getting ready for the day during which I rely heavily on sight to pick out my outfit, pick up my supplies for class that day, and more. At breakfast, I rely on the combination of eyesight, smell and taste to know what I am eating. Throughout my day and even within my morning routine there will be many more instances in which I rely on my senses. If I were to begin questioning the reliability of my senses then I would constantly wonder: did I see that right? Did I hear that right? Is that really what that felt like to me? Is that what that tastes like? Does that actually smell like that? Assuming the world is real as perceived by our combined senses, and ...

Solution provided by:
Xenia Rochelle Jones, MA, PhD (IP)
Education
  • MPhil/PhD (IP), Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • MA, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • Certificate, Geva Ulpan (via Universita Tel Aviv)
  • BA, University of the Philippines
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