Conscious Perception and the Central Nervous System

Paper Summary:

The paper examines whether our conscious perception is an epiphenomenon of the activity of our central nervous system. The paper states that the argument is based on the fact that perception is shaped by cultural factors, meaning that people from two different cultures do not perceive the world in exactly the same way and explains that if conscious perception was not an epiphenomenon of the central nervous system, there would be no significant differences between cultures.

From the Paper:

"In order to prove this point it is necessary to look at the nature of perception. Emily A. Schultz and Robert H. Lavenda in Cultural Anthropology define perception as, "The processes by which people organize and experience information that is primarily of sensory origin"(Schultz and Lavenda 1995: 139). What this means is that perception involves two distinct components. The first components are
the sensory organs themselves. The detect stimulus from the environment. However,sensory organs can only detect, they can't process the information. The central nervous system processes the information that the sensory organs have detected."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anonymous(1999), Webster's New Explorer Dictionary, Merriam-Webster: 175.
• Descartes, Rene(2000), "Meditations II, VI" in Problems in Mind, Jack S. Crumley II, Mayfield Publishing Company, Toronto: 21-33.
• Lavenda, Robert H. and Schultz, Emily A.(1995), Cultural Anthropology, Third Edition, Mayfield Publishing Company, Toronto.
• Martin, Alex(2007), "The Representation of Object Concepts in the Brain" in Annual Review of Psychology, Palo Alto, Vol.58: 25.

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