The Nature of Logic and Perception

The Nature of Logic and Perception

Perception is something we do constantly and of which we are often unaware. It is the way we see and understand our environment. Whether stopping at a red light, laughing at a joke, or writing a paper, perception is at work. The paper examines aspects of perception, its relationship to logic, barriers to accurate perception, and the consequences of misperception.

Logic and critical thinking are intertwined, even interdependent. Critical thinking is the analytical process of evaluating data, and logic is the vehicle for reaching conclusions. Critical thinking provides the ability to question, see through preconceived notions, and understand meaning. Logic depends upon critical thought to examine the veracity of premises, just as critical thought depends on logic to make a judgment. The relationship between premises is the called the argument, and justification of the argument is called validity. Hence, a valid argument with an accurate conclusion is derived from a sequence of premises that are evaluated by critical thought and related logically. The effectiveness of logic and critical thinking is highly dependent

upon perception.

The perceptual process is how people gather external data then react to the data. The process has five parts: observation, selection, organization, interpretation and response. Observation is the act of sensory stimulation in the form of sight, sound, taste, touch, and feel. This can be seeing a person's face, hearing snow crunch under footsteps, or just feeling a texture. The next step is selection, where the observer decides whether or not to pay attention to the environmental stimulus. For example, one observer may select the sound of footsteps in snow while another observer may not even notice. Now that the observer has selected the stimulus, he or she will organize the sensory data by attempting to associate it with similar data. This is also called perceptual grouping. Now the observer must interpret the information. This is when judgments are made as well as perceptual and attribution errors. Finally, the observer reacts to the perceived environmental stimulus.

Many stumbling blocks exist between the observation and a correct perception of the event. The culture to which an individual belongs has a great impact on perception, one that is so deeply ingrained that it can be difficult to see its effects. Awareness of one's own culture as well as other cultures can have a mitigating effect on this interference. "Recognizing the extent of our enculturation lessens its effects and moves us closer to an open mind, which is essential to critical and creative thinking." (Goodpaster & Kirby, 1999, p.19). Self image is another potential block to perception. A person may identify with concepts or things, resulting in an emotional involvement. When these beliefs are challenged "we respond emotionally and may engage in ego-defense mechanisms, self-serving biases, and other distortions to ensure ourselves that what we identify with, that is, what we think we are, is good." (Goodpaster & Kirby, 1999, p.20).

Fortunately, these barriers can be overcome, first through awareness and acknowledgement of them, then with conscious effort to identify when these factors are interfering with perception. "Nothing holds our attitudes in place other that a willingness to retain them. They are not based on absolute truth: they are perceptions based on our individual versions of life." (Watkins, 2004, p.1).

As a teenager I began to see that my father was unenlightened and somewhat of a backward thinker. We did not share common ideologies, to say the least. I have a zeal for science, particularly cosmology and theoretical astrophysics. Science, not faith, is surely the only way to answer the big question: who are we? My father has a very strong background in theology, especially in Catholicism. Much of our intellectual dialogue revolved around church teachings and dogmata. I started to discount