TOK Chapter 5 Sense Perception The world is

TOK Chapter 5: Sense Perception

“The world is not always as we sense it - we do not know how it ‘really is’. ” Respond to this statement (Agree/Disagree and why), discuss, and be ready for share out.

Activity Read p. 81 Blue “Sense Contact with the World” Discuss the three questions at the bottom of the article Be ready to share out with the class

Journal 9/15 How do our senses affect our ability to understand the world?

Sense Perception Physical response of our senses to stimuli. (don’t need to write below here) 1. Sense receptors in different parts of our body (fingers, eyes, nose, etc) are stimulated by sensory information → 2. Travels as electrical impulses to the brain, which interprets sensations (sound, light, etc) → 3. Brain ignores or recognizes the sensation and their meanings based on past networks of past associations. **These 3 Steps are almost instantaneous!**

Perception vs. Interpretation The sensory process is so swift that we often use the word ‘perception’ to describe our ‘interpretation’ of what our senses tell us, rather than what our senses are actually ‘perceiving’. Perception is sometimes synonymous with ‘opinion’. Discussion Question: How do we know through sense perception?

Four Characteristics of Sense Perception 1. Human: Every sentient creature has receptors that capture a certain stimuli. Some animals have senses we do not share Ex: Bats and dolphins use sonar for navigation Some senses we share with other animals we possess to different degrees: Ex: Sense of smell vs. a Wolf, Eye sight vs. an Eagle

1. Human cont. What we learn about other animals tells us a great deal about our own capacities and limitations. Discussion Activity P. 82 Enjoy this one! Be prepared to read your description!

Journal 9/17 Using your research on your animal from yesterday, describe this classroom as if you were it.

What if. . Our sight was poor and our sense of smell was extremely sensitive, would we: Greet each other differently? Organize the directional signposting in our cities differently? Have different rituals within our wedding ceremonies? **We understand much better that the world is not exactly as we sense it when we entertain other possibilities through research and imagination. **

2. Variable From person to person, our senses are variable in their range and acuity. We miss what some see, we hear what some can’t. Our society has developed the “norm” for our senses - the most common usage of the senses.

Discussion Questions Is our own personal experience of sense perception the same as the norm? Does the world you live in “look like” the world in which your classmate lives? Discuss with your table ways in which our senses vary amongst each other and how our society has tried to ‘alter’ this.

Glasses, laser surgery, hearing aids, contacts, etc suggest that ‘departure from normal is. . . normal’.

Journal 9/22 p. 85 Read “How did She Know? ” Reflect and answer that question!

Disorient them They were the guiders, so they have a good idea. Take them a certain way, then turn around. Down G hall Down D hall Through the Quad By the library By the gym By the office Past B hall 20 minutes

9/16 Answer the reflection questions for the Sight Activity in your notebook

Journal 9/21 How did the Sightless Activity represent how your knowledge is affected by your senses?

Sightless Activity Down G hall Down D hall Through the Quad By the library By the gym By the office Past B hall 20 minutes

On the Sticky Note Write your name at the bottom Write “CU 27 – CSU 24” in the middle Put a STAR in the upper right hand corner

Bring in an object tomorrow

3. Actively Selective https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Uf. A 3 iv. LK_t E

Actively Selective Clearly, we do not catch all the sense information about the world at one moment. **Senses are selective in what they catch out of all the possibilities around us. ** Discussion: How did the Active Selection videos demonstrate this?

Touch Sensation Activity Those with eyes closed, discuss the object you are feeling. Talk it out, decide what you’re holding.

Discussion Activity P. 87 Read everyone’s description. How are they similar or different? Why? If you combine all of your descriptions, would you make a better description? Why/why not? **BE SURE TO DO A REFLECTION AT THE END OF EVERY CLASS. 3 -4 sentences each day**

It is often said that “seeing is believing” Respond and discuss this statement.

Even with strong intentions to tell the truth, observers vary considerably in their accounts of events

Reflection outside of Class Take four or five minutes to pay attention to what you are gaining at the moment through your senses. (1 min each) 1. Close your eyes and listen carefully to all the sounds you hear 2. The smells around you 3. Feelings your body is experiencing such as the pressure of your hands holding a book. 4. Images in your environment.

4. Interpretive Turn to P. 88. What do you see in the drawing? What is really there?

Journal 9/23 P. 88 Describe what you see in the drawing upon first glance. What is REALLY there?

Journal 9/21 Describe one moment this weekend where you used your senses and how it affected what you know and how you know it.

Ted Talk – Optical Illusions What does this say about our senses? What are the implications, etc?

Journal How does technology affect our sense perception?

Journal 9/28 Describe one instant in which technology has limited Ex:

Journal 9/28 How does technology affect our observations? Are we still using our senses? Oh and get a book

Limitations of Sense Perception 1. Technology has extended our observational knowledge. However, technology has also blocked our ability to extend our observational knowledge. We can be “blinded” to the real world around us or absorbed by technology. (insert teacher sigh here)

Discussion Question How can technology block our observations?

Reflection Question P. 91 “For Reflection” Read answer the questions. Be ready to discuss with your groups and share out in class.

2. Thinking Critically 1. Pay Attention!!! a. We can train ourselves to be more observant and more curious about the world around us. b. Regard conclusions based on sense perception as not completely reliable.

Think Critically cont. 2. Suspend Expectations a. See what is there, not what you expected to see i. Struggle against our own tendencies! b. (don’t write) Medical students told to listen for heart beat with a stethoscope, but they were full of cotton. Some still heard a heartbeat based on expectation. c. Confirmation Bias: We notice what supports expectations, and don’t notice what counters it.

Thinking Critically cont. 3. Disentangle Observation from interpretation Read P. 93 -94 “c. Disentangle Observation from Interpretation” How can the value judgement or false interpretation affect observational knowledge?

Activity Disentangle Observation from Interpretation Write down one food you HATE, but not because you’ve had it a lot and didn’t like it, but one in which you refuse to try and/or tried once. Write down a type of music you HATE, but a type you’ve rarely heard.

Discussion Question for the Activity How can greater knowledge through a stage of complete confusion guide interpretation and create new observational knowledge and value judgements?

Thinking Critically Cont. 4. Check your own observations Self explanatory : ) Make sure what you thought you saw or heard actually happened! Use the previous steps about sensory interpretation to guide you!

RED PILL / BLUE PILL https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=b. CUh. FZnxo BU Is it better to take the blue pill and interpret what our senses perceive as we always have, or take the red pill to interpret the world as it truly “is”?