Immaculate perception

The expression immaculate perception, used by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his text Thus Spoke Zarathustra; the term pertains to the idea of "pure knowledge." Nietzsche argues that "immaculate perception" is fictional because it ignores the intimate connection between the perceiver and the external world.[1] He argues that humans are fallible and are capable of using data to ratify or refute perceptions. He also clarifies that perception is value-laden and can be ruled by our interests.[2]

Concept

The term was the title of one of Zarathustra's speeches, Von der unbefleckten Erkenntnis, which literally means "On Immaculate Knowledge" or "On Immaculate Cognition.[3] Walter Kaufmann who translated it as "On Immaculate Perception"; other scholars also prefer this translation because the main metaphor in the passage is visual perception.[3]

Nietzsche used immaculate perception in his interrogation of the myths of purity.[1] According to the philosopher, perception is value-laden and ruled by interest;[4] in particular, it denies the important role that the will and desires of the perceiver have on every perception.[5]

Nietzsche also used immaculate perception in his discussions of the Christian view on sexuality. He attacked the so-called detachment of the "pure perceivers" or Rein-Erkennenden (e.g. Kantian view that pure judgments of what is beautiful must be detached), calling it voyeurism.[6] According to him, loving the Earth from afar for these pure-knowers is hypocritical because they too are earthly but there is shame and bad conscience in this love.[1]

Applications

An example of the immaculate perception principle is Sigmund Freud's theory of mental representation, or what some also refer to "copy theory of perception".[7] He proposed that perception, which he often used interchangeably with "external reality",[8] is sensory-given and immediately known to the subject;[7] therefore, it essentially involves the passive and temporary registration of an object.[7] Nietzsche criticized this idea of "pure perception" by arguing that human perceptions are not mere copies of the images on the retinas.[9] He maintained that perception is not clean or untainted by the object of perception.[10] People "actively" construct perceived information[9] as sensory modalities select and tend to simplify phenomena so that they merely serve one's interest and need.[4]

References

Del Caro, Adrian (2004). Grounding the Nietzsche Rhetoric of Earth. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 94. ISBN 3-11-018038-3.
Magnus, Bernd; Stewart, Stanley; Mileur, Jean-Pierre (2014). Nietzsche's Case: Philosophy as/and Literature. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-96098-0.
Burnham, Douglas (2010). Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra: An Edinburgh Philosophical Guide: An Edinburgh Philosophical Guide. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7486-4243-4.
Stack, George J. (2005). Nietzsche's Anthropic Circle: Man, Science, and Myth. Rochester, NY: University Rochester Press. p. 103. ISBN 1-58046-191-3.
Metcalfe, Michael. A Dancer’s Virtue: Human Life in Light of Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence. Concept XXVIII, 2005.
Higgins, Kathleen Marie (2010). Nietzsche's Zarathustra. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 9780739120866.
Dorpat, Theo L.; Miller, Michael L. (2013). Clinical Interaction and the Analysis of Meaning: A New Psychoanalytic Theory. Oxon: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-0881631463.
Schimek, Jean-Georges (2011). Memory, Myth, and Seduction: Unconscious Fantasy and the Interpretive Process. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-135-19189-4.
Nesselroade, K. Paul Jr.; Grimm, Laurence G. (2018). Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-119-35539-7.
Germain, Gil (2017). Thinking about Technology: How the Technological Mind Misreads Reality. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-4985-4953-0.

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[:4-1] Del Caro, Adrian (2004). Grounding the Nietzsche Rhetoric of Earth. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 94. ISBN 3-11-018038-3.

[2] Magnus, Bernd; Stewart, Stanley; Mileur, Jean-Pierre (2014). Nietzsche's Case: Philosophy as/and Literature. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-96098-0.

[:0-3] Burnham, Douglas (2010). Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra: An Edinburgh Philosophical Guide: An Edinburgh Philosophical Guide. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7486-4243-4.

[:1-4] Stack, George J. (2005). Nietzsche's Anthropic Circle: Man, Science, and Myth. Rochester, NY: University Rochester Press. p. 103. ISBN 1-58046-191-3.

[5] Metcalfe, Michael. A Dancer’s Virtue: Human Life in Light of Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence. Concept XXVIII, 2005.

[6] Higgins, Kathleen Marie (2010). Nietzsche's Zarathustra. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 9780739120866.

[:2-7] Dorpat, Theo L.; Miller, Michael L. (2013). Clinical Interaction and the Analysis of Meaning: A New Psychoanalytic Theory. Oxon: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-0881631463.

[8] Schimek, Jean-Georges (2011). Memory, Myth, and Seduction: Unconscious Fantasy and the Interpretive Process. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-135-19189-4.

[:3-9] Nesselroade, K. Paul Jr.; Grimm, Laurence G. (2018). Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-119-35539-7.

[10] Germain, Gil (2017). Thinking about Technology: How the Technological Mind Misreads Reality. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-4985-4953-0.