Seeing in theory and practice: the impact of a liberal-arts education
As a college senior, I decided to round out my undergraduate experience with several courses in the humanities, including introductory philosophy. Among the concepts we studied was George (Bishop) Berkeley’s contention that familiar objects like tables and chairs are merely ideas in the minds of perceivers. It seemed bizarre to me, but I was also fascinated by Berkeley’s departure from the common assumption that everyone sees objective reality in the same way. I hadn’t previously considered whether or not we all see the same tables and chairs.
Therese McCarty
A few months later, I was prescribed eyeglasses for the first time. I had one nearsighted eye and one 20-20 eye, resulting in a loss of depth perception. When I put the glasses on for the first time, I was stunned by the shift in what I saw. Had I spent my whole life seeing things differently from how they really are? I found myself wondering. Given the variations in people’s eyes and brains and given the potential for imprecisions in vision correction, does everyone see things somewhat differently? I realized that Berkeley was on to something. The table that I see is not the table that you see; it’s not even the table that I see with my glasses
The realization that people see things differently has stuck with me. Over and over, I have noticed that people experiencing the same conversation or event do not see it the same way. As an administrator, I know that it is very important to be aware of varying perception