Is perception an accurate representation of reality?

Question

Answe the main question and then provide reasons.

Secondarily, if perception is not accurate, how does anyone know what reality is.

Answer 1

It would seem that perception is a loose description of reality because of obvious human bias. Example: I perceive a man to be a threat because he is bigger than me. This type of scenario would lead one to believe that perception is a poor old tool still lodged in the human brain from back in the hunter gatherer days. However, new science is telling us that at the smallest level of existence perception rules. What? That's right, the very nature of our surrounding microverse is being created or hidden by our collective perception. This may be hard to grasp now but very soon the scientific community will be able to explain the interaction between human perception and the fabric of our existence. I think that we will all be surprised by the true nature of reality. Perception does not represent reality. In fact, it is the opposite that is true. IT IS REALITY THAT REPRESENTS OUR PERCEPTION.

Answer 2

No, as others have stated here, human perception hardly can be an accurate representation of reality, as we are all seeing things differently, and are constantly confused by things because we don't have perfect knowledge or tools with which to perceive things accurately. That was a long sentence. You could either believe that, or believe that your perception is perfect, and therefore you are in touch with reality. Neither matters because the argument is struck down by itself. Perception is all we have, and so reality might as well not even exist.

If you choose to believe that you can at least somewhat understand reality through your perception, and you can read, than you can read any number of scientific articles on paranoid schizophrenia or even dream states that deal with the mind creating a different reality for itself. Therefore what you perceive comes into question, as it not only can change easily, but in different states your perception interacts with your physical body and the world around you differently.

If you choose to believe that you can not access reality through perception, then you will put no stock in what you perceive, and therefore you must concede that you wouldn't know reality if it bit your kneecap. In either case, reality is what you make it, so make it good.

Answer 3

That depends what "is", "is". Who is it that can appoint "reality" for another person? Is reality a shared experience or is it that "reality" is an individual and unique experience. In other words, do any two people have or "share" the same reality? Do any two people see "everything" exactly the same?
Your reality is limited to your experience and thus your "perception" of the circumstances around you, which differs from everyone else on the planet. However, many people choose to adopt to some extent a "shared" perception of reality, at least until it is proven false and thus, altered. For example, at one time, it was a common perception/"reality" that the world was "flat", until of course it was proven to be a sphere. :O)

This being stated, let me answer your question with this:

"Perception" is only as accurate as anyones understanding of the "Truth".

Answer 4

For an individual, for me, my perception of reality is an accurate representation of a particular moment at a specific time.

That perception may change over time due to conversations, new experiences, or perhaps self-doubt that may cause an individual to second guess that particular reality.

Each one of us has our own reality. Our cognitions and learnings affect our perceptions. At some point in time, our paths may cross and my reality becomes your reality.

Answer 5

It is impossible to know.

All the information that we have about the world is through perception, any observation of perception is itself a perception.
It is impossible to examine perception without perception -- therefore it impossible to analyze how does perception correlates with real words.

In short you can be in a boat and observe the boat from outside at the same time.
So your question will be eternally without answer.

Now, if since we have no other choice -- we might as well ASSUME without proof that perception is how the real world -- this makes our lives easier and we have no other choice anyway.

Answer 6

At least in one sense, the answer to your question is that reality consist of our perceptions. Maurice Merleau-Ponty suggested that nature was the subject, rather than the object, of perception.
In The Visible and the Invisible, he attempts to show us how to divest ourselves of the Cartesian duality that causes the very question you are asking. It's an interesting read, should you find the time and inclination.

Answer 7

Reality is the representation of your perception. Everyones reality is different

Answer 8

No because your perception of something is one-sided. The average person takes something or someone at "face value."
Just because you look at something it doesn't mean that you know anything about it. Perception is simply a varied way of seeing something.

Answer 9

Not by a looong shot. It is only an accurate representation of your reality, nobody else's.

Answer 10

In short, no. Perception is determined by perspective, which in turn is determined by a number of factors; mental & emotional stability, sensory awareness, attitude, upbringing, etc.