Norman W Wilson: Perspective and Perception - It all Depends upon Your Point of View

by Norman W Wilson, PhD

This is not an article about certain aspects of works of art such as painting, photography, or sculpture. Nor is it about architecture. Rather, it is about the way we humans look at our world. An acquaintance has often admonished me to change my perspective so that I may have a different perception. And with that, hopefully new understanding.

What does perspective mean? The word perspective comes to us from the Latin, perspicere meaning to see through. Multiple other definitions are available but only those that allude to human psychophysiology will be considered here. Perspective refers to the state of one's ideas in having interrelationships that are meaningful, that is, a mental view. One's perspective involves the senses as well as cognition. Finally, perspective is the process of attaining awareness. It is important to add, awareness for understanding. It is attitude.; how one sees through the myriad of life experiences.

Perception is considered one of the oldest fields in psychology. There is little argument about the notion that what one perceives is the result between past experiences and their subsequent interpretation of those experiences and any new experiences they may encounter.

Perception may be defined as the act of cognition; of understanding. Such understandings may be immediate or intuitive and involve the recognition of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities of another, or of a particular situation.

The reason for changing one's perspective is to get a different perception , to look at something differently, and therefore, gain new insight and understanding. The next time you face an issue, change your perspective and see what happens.

Norman W Wison and his wife Suzanne are Camano Island residents.  This essay used by permission from the author. His website is http://www.shamanicmysteries.com

Comments

[Norm]

Thank you, Donna. I appreciate you taking the time to post a comment.

[Donna Groskopf]

Good article, Norm. I sure enjoy your writings. Thanks for sharing them with me.

Donna