simple explanation about the meaning of "nothing is more difficult than to know precisely what we see"

Question

this qoute is from a philosopher namely maurice merleau-ponty. i need a simple but easy to understand. pls help me. thanks a lot...

Answer 1

people are so wraped up in logic and specifics if they could look through the eyes of a child and see simply what is in front of you. a apple sits on a table before you there is nothing more to it he is speaking of the simplicity of things as adults we tend to lose sight of how simple things were as children and at that time our minds soaked up the most information.

Answer 2

It means we cannot rely on our sensory perception to verify our existence as our senses can be deceived His views are a modified version of Decartes that nothing in our thoughts are absolute or above question. A simple analogy is on a very hot day if you look on a very long road you will swear you see a puddle of water. There is no water actually there but our sense of sight tells us there is. If our senses can be fooled then how can we be truly sure of anything? For all we REALLY know we could be a pile of goo in a jar that is being fooled into thinking we have the existence we have. Can anyone say “The Matrix”?

Decartes one caveat was that he is also the father of “I think therefore I am.” That in his estimation is the only thing we can know for a fact, if we think enough to raise these questions then we must be “thinking things”. Everything else is judged by the senses therefore subject to fallibility.

Answer 3

The problem with what we see is that we colour it with what we expect to see, or what our experience has taught us to see, or what someone has led us to believe we will see, with the result that we often don't see what is actually there, but rather, what we have been conditioned to look for.
There is a famous silhouette picture, which looks like a vase to some people, to two faces to others. I'm sure you've seen this picture yourself, and when it suddenly turns into the other picture, it makes you blink with surprise.
It is difficult for us to look at something with fresh eyes and see exactly what is there, and only what is there, without draping it with all our own baggage.


Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I'd say that it means that not everything you see is as simple as what you think it is.

Everyone has an opinion on what is beautiful. If you see a sunset, someone may think it's the most beautiful thing they've seen, others have seen better.

When you look at a rock, you may see it as static and dead, where someone else sees billions of atoms racing at the speed of light (or maybe they're moving a whole lot slower than that. lol)

That's the way I'd take it. :)

Answer 5

It is hard to see the truth. There are so many different interpretations of others day to day actions that we can take away. I think that the quote may be commenting on the human struggle that we face to find the true meaning of things.

Answer 6

This quote means to strive to have a clear perspective of any given situation. To measure, not with preconcived judgement, but with an open heart. That this is the hardest for any human to do. We can't "see" but to "see" thru our own filters of experience.

Answer 7

NOT ALL SIGHTS ARE PRETTY DRIVE BY FOR EXAMPLE EACH SEE"S DIFFERENTLY THE MIND