Can we trust our sense experience?

Please join us this Sunday as we explore whether we can trust our senses and perception. This session will be moderated by Anthony.

We will meet at the CAPTAIN MELVILLE, 34 Franklin St in Melbourne CBD, at 2.00pm for 2.15pm start sharp.

There is no pre-requisite preparation necessary, nor a philosophical background; all that is required is a curious mind. These discussions are both a Socrates Cafe style discussion and lively metaphysical dojo, in the spirit of learning and friendly debate, so please feel free to challenge assumptions and be prepared have your own assumptions challenged!

Find below some questions to consider, however these are free-ranging events and the below serve merely as a springboard towards a deeper discussion in waters unknown...

Some points and questions to consider before the event:

• What does it mean to “trust” our senses—reliability, accuracy, usefulness, or something else?
• Could two people experience the same object but perceive it differently—and both be correct?
• Can we distinguish illusion from reality without relying on our senses?
• What do neuroscience and psychology suggest about the reliability of perception?
• What do illusions, hallucinations, and mirages tell us about sensory perception?
• If our senses sometimes deceive us, does that mean they are fundamentally unreliable?
• Is perception passive reception or active construction by the mind?
• Do we ever experience the world directly, or always through interpretation?
• Are we aware of external objects themselves, or only of our perceptions of them?
• Why does Kant argue that we can never know the noumenal world (things-in-themselves)?

Hope to see you there!