ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

AT-NAV-G05-041 · ATLAS 259

Perception

Perception concerns access to the environment or body through sensory processes and the experience associated with them.

Part of the subject path Philosophy of Language, Thought and Knowledge

Why is this entry in the Atlas?

G · Foundational concept R2 · Necessary foundation

Perception distinguishes access to the world and lived experience from their linguistic description. Marking an information source is not the same activity as undergoing an experience.

Colours and admission grounds

The rectangular label identifies the entry function: F – linguistic figure or procedure; A – analytical concept; G – foundational concept; E – selected concrete case. The rounded badge indicates the admission ground: R1 – distinctive contribution; R2 – necessary foundation; R3 – justified illustrative case. This editorial rationale explains the current selection rather than claiming an undocumented original selection history.

Explanation

Perception concerns access to the environment or body through sensory processes and the experience associated with them. Stimulus, processing, experience and judgement are not simply identical. In the context of qualia, the focus is on what something feels like to the perceiver; other investigations concern discrimination, attention or neural processes. No single level answers every question raised at the others. Perception is also not a mechanical copy of a ready-made world: the surrounding context can affect how a stimulus is perceived. This does not make perception arbitrary or independent of external conditions.

Movement of thought

1. Specify the perceptual situation. 2. Record stimulus conditions. 3. Separate reports from performance. 4. Examine contextual effects. 5. State the explanatory level.

Scientific use case

Experiments can compare subjective reports and discrimination performance under controlled conditions.

Example

The same grey patch can appear brighter or darker against different backgrounds although its physical properties remain unchanged.

Counterexample

A perceptual error does not establish that all perceptual judgements are equally unjustified.

Distinction

Distinguish perception from stimulus alone, explicit judgement, memory and a complete explanation of qualia.

Effect on thought and perception

The concept connects access to the world with conditions of experience.

Resonance

What appears emerges through a relationship between conditions and perceiver.

Provenance

Parallel corpus 98f0950771ae4662f291d2f15f5c51b6797f3c20ba458a68615cdb177002ea18; case-bounded source review accepted; human specialist review not claimed.

Cite this entry

Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Perception“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-NAV-G05-041. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G05-041

https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G05-041

The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.