Seeing and knowing: perception and epistemology

Perception

Much of what is known about the brain, and especially related to higher cognitive functioning, has been learned from studying patients with brain injuries or neurological disorders. Ramachandran (2011) likewise draws upon his experience working with patients with rare and unusual disorders that illustrate the evolution of brain structures. Research also reveals the evolution of human sensory organs and mechanisms of perception and cognition.

Ramachandran's (2011) book the Tell-Tale Brain is a compendium of fascinating facts that shed some light on the ways the brain processes sensory input. Chapter Two, "Seeing and Knowing," delves deep into evolutionary history to demystify the differences between human beings and our animal counterparts. Doing so does not diminish the fascinating features of what Ramachandran (2011) calls the "symbolic descriptions" human beings form to create, interpret, and communicate reality. The process of seeing and the process of knowing are two related but distinct functions of the brain. As the author points out, there is no homunculus in the brain relaying images from the eyes and rendering those images into visual movies. Rather, the brain constructs reality from symbolic representations. The ability of human beings to visualize and conjure up phantasmagoric imagery demonstrates the dichotomous process of seeing and knowing.

The chapter on seeing and knowing deconstructs the way the brain receives and interprets visual imagery. For example, readers learn about "seeing and knowing" via visual illusions. Ramachandran (2011) explains how illusions prove that seeing is a matter of perception, not mechanics. The author also points out the brain's predilection for novelty and new stimulation. For example, Ramachandran (2011) explains an experiment using rats proving that novel sexual stimuli awaken the appetite in ways that familiar stimuli cannot. This would explain why monogamy is not necessarily hard-wired in the human brain.

Ramachandran (2011) refers to several neurological anomalies to illustrate how the brain processes visual imagery and how perception and cognition together construct a personal reality. Capgras syndrome is one disorder in which the individual cannot recognize familiar faces. The author relays several stories in which the male of the species rediscovers sexual appetites when new stimuli are introduced. Yet the author seems to have forgotten that the theory would only hold true for the human brain if it applied to more than fifty percent of the population.