···
Richard Pfau (2013.09.27.09:50EDT)–
David and Rick,
Here are my answers to the Leading Questions of Chapter 12 (provided, in part, as an indication that although I have not been taking a very active public part in the course so far, I have been participating as well as benefiting from all that is occurring). The answers seem to be consistent with David’s, but I’ll be happy to be corrected if off-target.
RM: Thanks for the nice words. I think your answers are great. I’ll just comment on them quickly.
- RP: No. It only implies that our perceptions and knowledge of an external reality are indirect. Presumably an external reality exists that activates our sensory neurons. If no reality existed, presumably our neurons would not be activated as they are.
RM: Exactly! The fact that PCT assumes that “it’s all perception” doesn’t deny the existence of external reality. Indeed, external reality is part of the PCT model – it’s the “remote physical phenomena” (also known as the “environment”) in the basic control diagram Figure 5.2, p. 61. I think the important “take away” from the PCT notion that “it’s all perception” is that what we experience is not external reality but a perceptual construction that is based on physical reality. It’s important to keep in the back of your mind that what we experience – the tables, lamps, computers and people, etc. that we see, hear and feel – are not reality; they are a construction based on reality; that reality being more like what is described by physics and chemistry (which says that reality is not tables, lamps, computers and people, etc but rather, atoms, molecules, forces, etc.).
RP: 2. Our observations of physics are limited by the nature of our sensory neurons that are activated only by some physical phenomena (such as those we call photons) and not by others (such as those we call gamma rays).
RM: That’s certainly true. But I think Bill may have been getting at the fact that, since we seem to perceive reality in terms of intensities, sensations, configurations, transition and sequences – the assumed first five levels of perception – the observations of physics are limited to these types of perceptions. And, indeed, physical measurements are made in terms of these kinds of variables: mass (intensity), color (sensation), atom/molecule (configuration), current (transition), DNA code (sequence).
- RP: ?
RM: That is a tough one. Perhaps what Powers is getting at is that this description (“jumping movement”) is focused on the transition level of perception (“movement”), takes for granted the lower levels (which are subjective perceptions, of course) and ignores higher levels (such as sequence), which perceive the jumping as part of a sequence that gets the organism to a goal. Now that I think of it, this question might be relevant to my PCT Glasses paper which is available at
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31298693/PCTGlasses2002.pdf
The overall point is that behavior is not an objective phenomenon (any more than anything is); it’s all perception.
- RP: three point two. (since what the meter indicates is unknown to the visitor)
RM: Righto!
RP: 5. “Mississippi” would be perceived as a configuration when seen by sight as a word. It would be perceived as a sequence when heard as a word. We read words faster than we can listen, since (a) we read words as configurations but hear words as sequences of sounds and since (b) the lower level of configuration perception occurs faster than the higher level of sequence perception.
RM: Right. And the configuration that is the printed word “Mississippi” can all be seen at the same time; not when it’s spoken, however.
RP: With Regards (and “Keep Up the Good Work” that you-all are doing!),
Richard Pfau
And, again, thank you!
Best regards
Rick
–
Richard S. Marken PhD
rsmarken@gmail.com
www.mindreadings.com