Conceptual and Philosophical Issues: What Does It Mean to Assert That an Observer Perceives?

Summary

Humans are physical systems of a special biological kind that can perceive. The act of human perception can be conceptualized in terms of three components: inputs from the environment, processing mechanisms that operate on those inputs, and output products in the form of percepts. Causal relationships among and within these components of perception are in some cases mysterious, and this has led to extensive discussions of these issues in both the philosophical and the scientific literature. Biological theories have focused on the causal chain that progresses from the environment through neural activity in the brain to our percepts. Psychological theories have attempted to characterize the processes by which percepts are formed from a perspective of information theory. More broad-based integrative approaches try to take into account computational, biological, and psychological levels of description with levels of analysis ranging from molar to molecular. Models that range from simplifying to realistic serve as important tools used by scientists in trying to understand perception. Ultimately, the most realistic models, in the form of perceiving robots, may cease being mere models and take on characteristics of perceiving agents.