Immaculate perception

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The expression immaculate perception, used by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his text Thus Spoke Zarathustra; the term pertains to the idea of "pure knowledge." Nietzsche argues that "immaculate perception" is fictional because it ignores the intimate connection between the perceiver and the external world. [1] He argues that humans are fallible and are capable of using data to ratify or refute perceptions. He also clarifies that perception is value-laden and can be ruled by our interests. [2]

Contents

Concept

The term was the title of one of Zarathustra's speeches, Von der unbefleckten Erkenntnis, which literally means "On Immaculate Knowledge" or "On Immaculate Cognition. [3] Walter Kaufmann who translated it as "On Immaculate Perception"; other scholars[ who? ] also prefer this translation because the main metaphor in the passage is visual perception. [3]

Nietzsche used immaculate perception in his interrogation of the myths of purity. [1] According to the philosopher, perception is value-laden and ruled by interest; [4] in particular, it denies the important role that the will and desires of the perceiver have on every perception. [5]

Nietzsche also used immaculate perception in his discussions of the Christian view on sexuality. He attacked the so-called detachment of the "pure perceivers" or Rein-Erkennenden (e.g. Kantian view that pure judgments of what is beautiful must be detached), calling it voyeurism. [6] According to him, loving the Earth from afar for these pure-knowers is hypocritical because they too are earthly but there is shame and bad conscience in this love. [1]

Applications

An example of the immaculate perception principle is Sigmund Freud's theory of mental representation, or what some[ who? ] also refer to "copy theory of perception". [7] He proposed that perception, which he often used interchangeably with "external reality", [8] is sensory-given and immediately known to the subject; [7] therefore, it essentially involves the passive and temporary registration of an object. [7] Nietzsche criticized this idea of "pure perception" by arguing that human perceptions are not mere copies of the images on the retinas. [9] He maintained that perception is not clean or untainted by the object of perception. [10] People "actively" construct perceived information [9] as sensory modalities select and tend to simplify phenomena so that they merely serve one's interest and need. [4] [ according to whom? ]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Del Caro, Adrian (2004). Grounding the Nietzsche Rhetoric of Earth. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 94. ISBN   3-11-018038-3.
  2. ↑ Magnus, Bernd; Stewart, Stanley; Mileur, Jean-Pierre (2014). Nietzsche's Case: Philosophy as/and Literature. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-96098-0.
  3. 1 2 Burnham, Douglas (2010). Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra: An Edinburgh Philosophical Guide: An Edinburgh Philosophical Guide. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 104. ISBN   978-0-7486-4243-4.
  4. 1 2 Stack, George J. (2005). Nietzsche's Anthropic Circle: Man, Science, and Myth. Rochester, NY: University Rochester Press. p. 103. ISBN   1-58046-191-3.
  5. ↑ Metcalfe, Michael. A Dancer’s Virtue: Human Life in Light of Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence. Concept XXVIII, 2005.
  6. ↑ Higgins, Kathleen Marie (2010). Nietzsche's Zarathustra. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN   9780739120866.
  7. 1 2 3 Dorpat, Theo L.; Miller, Michael L. (2013). Clinical Interaction and the Analysis of Meaning: A New Psychoanalytic Theory. Oxon: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN   978-0881631463.
  8. ↑ Schimek, Jean-Georges (2011). Memory, Myth, and Seduction: Unconscious Fantasy and the Interpretive Process. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN   978-1-135-19189-4.
  9. 1 2 Nesselroade, K. Paul Jr.; Grimm, Laurence G. (2018). Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 247. ISBN   978-1-119-35539-7.
  10. ↑ Germain, Gil (2017). Thinking about Technology: How the Technological Mind Misreads Reality. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. p. 59. ISBN   978-1-4985-4953-0.
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