Sharif Hasan

“To what extent does the subjective nature of perception act as an advantage for artists and an obstacle that is to be overcome by scientists?”


               In the theory of knowledge, there are four ways of knowing: perception, reasoning, language and emotion. The central focus is on perception which is fundamentally about using one or more of the five senses to gain knowledge. There are several areas of knowledge such as the arts, sciences, human sciences, history, mathematics and ethics. However, the two focal areas of knowledge are the arts and sciences. A science is an area of knowledge where the scientific method is employed through formulating a hypothesis, constructing a method and drawing a scientific conclusion from the results. The arts are completely different on the other hand. It accentuates the importance of using one’s imagination and expressing emotions through an aesthetically pleasing medium be it visual arts, drama, dance, music or literature. Perception is known to be very subjective which means that different individuals can perceive and interpret the same object in a different manner. What may be deduced by someone may not be the same as the conclusion that another person has drawn. The subjective nature of perception has been known to obscure the nature of science and at the same time, work well for artists. Despite certain exceptions, the subjective nature of sense perception can be viewed as a substantial advantage for artists but it can be a hindrance for scientists.

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        Perception is known to be very subjective regardless of the sense because different people have different abilities and tastes. We know perception is subjective because one person might perceive something different from his/her acquaintance. For instance, in the movie A Beautiful Mind, the protagonist Nash has taken drugs therefore he hallucinates. Whilst he sees images of his past, his family and friends are not able to see or hear those images therefore Nash’s perception has been substantially deceived. This shows that the perception is skewed towards one viewpoint because people have different abilities to see and hear different things. Another ...

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