Wolfgang Smith's Philosophy: Visual Perception and Reality

Wolfgang Smith's insights challenge the conventional understanding of perception, revealing a deeper connection between the corporeal and the physical worlds.

### Exploring the Intersection of Philosophy, Science, and Perception with Wolfgang Smith
* 🎙 ️ Welcome to the Project Scola podcast, hosted by **John Trevor Berger**, featuring a discussion with **John Taylor** about Professor **Wolfgang Smith** and the **Filo Sophia initiative**, which seeks to **integrate scientific discoveries with the wisdom of humanity**.
* 📚 The initiative's goal is to **recover the vertical aspect of cosmic reality**, inviting those committed to truth to engage with a worldview that **harmonizes physics with philosophical insights**.
* 📖 Dr. Smith's latest book, "**Physics: A Science Inquest of an Ontology**," is available for purchase in various formats, with links provided for **easy access**.
* 🎥 Additionally, listeners are encouraged to explore the documentary **"The End of Quantum Reality,"** which delves into Dr. Smith's work and can be **rented or purchased online**.
* 🌍 The podcast emphasizes the distinction between the **physical universe** and the **corporeal world**, highlighting that sensory perceptions relate to **corporeal objects** rather than purely physical ones, which are **quantitative and imperceptible**.
* 👁 The discussion pivots to visual perception, referencing James Gibson's ecological theory, which argues that **perception is grounded in the external environment** rather than a mere internal image, challenging the prevailing **retinal image theory**.
* 🧠 Taylor shares his academic journey and how Wolfgang Smith's work will influence his graduate studies, reflecting on the implications of **direct realism** and the need for **further investigation into the connections between perception and physics**.
* 💡 The conversation concludes with a deeper exploration of realism, as they define it as the belief in an **objectively existing world**, encompassing the **corporeal, intermediary, and avaternal realms**, ultimately advocating for a **broader understanding of reality**.

### Exploring Perception: The Intersection of Intellect, Science, and Metaphysics
* 🧠 The distinction between sensation and perception highlights that our **intellect plays a crucial role** in how we perceive the world around us.
* 📖 Wolfgang's detailed examination of Gibson's work, particularly in the chapter **"The Enigma of Visual Perception,"** illustrates the **deepening connection between perception and metaphysical realism**.
* 🔍 Wolfgang argues that as science advances, it increasingly requires **metaphysical interpretation** to make sense of complex findings, such as Gibson's assertion that "**the world is not viewed in perspective**."
* 🌌 He posits that perception occurs in the intellect, which **transcends space and time**, challenging the psychosomatic view that limits perception to **mere physical interactions**.
* 🔄 Gibson's findings suggest that we can perceive the **whole of an object** even when only parts are visible, reinforcing the idea that perception is not merely a **sensory experience** but an **intellectual act**.
* 🌈 The phenomenon of **color constancy** exemplifies how we perceive colors **consistently despite changes in lighting**, indicating a **non-physical aspect of perception** that aligns with Wolfgang's ontology.
* 🌀 The discussion of information, particularly the distinction between Shannon information and semantic information, emphasizes that modern science's understanding of information reflects a **rediscovery of forms rooted in classical philosophy**.
* 📚 Wolfgang's insights suggest that the essence of information lies in its ability to **signify forms**, which are fundamental to our **comprehension of reality**, further bridging the gap between **science and metaphysics**.

The Reality of Visual Perception | John Taylor & John Trevor Berger

Philos-Sophia Initiative

The Philosophy Initiative and Wolfgang Smith's Work

The Filo Sophia initiative, led by Professor Wolfgang Smith, aims to transform civilization by integrating scientific discoveries with perennial wisdom.

Smith's latest book, "Physics: A Science Inquest of an Ontology," is available in various formats.

The initiative also offers a documentary film, membership subscriptions, and a focus on redefining the distinction between the physical and corporeal worlds.

The speaker is originally from Godaming, Surrey, living close to London, and comes from a family with a strong background in science.

They are in their final year of college and have applied for a master's program at LSE or UCL, with a focus on the philosophy of science.

The speaker became interested in Wolfgang Smith's work on quantum physics through a podcast and is considering incorporating his ideas into their graduate studies.

The Impact of James Gibson's Ecological Theory of Visual Perception

James Gibson's research challenged the prevailing retinal image theory of perception, revealing its insufficiency in providing the necessary information for complex tasks like landing a plane.

His ecological theory of visual perception emphasized that what we perceive is not an internal image but the external environment, directly correlating with the realm of natural sciences.

Despite undermining the dominant scientific worldview, Gibson was highly regarded in academia, with his groundbreaking discovery going unrecognized for its profound implications.

Gibson's Ecological Theory of Visual Perception

Gibson's theory challenges the idea that perception is solely a mental process, arguing instead that we perceive the environment directly.

Key concepts in his work include invariance, affordances, and the ambient optic array.

The theory has implications for both direct realism and metaphysics, suggesting a deeper connection between ecological information and thermodynamics.

The Metaphysical Implications of Gibson's Theory of Perception

Gibson's theory of perception challenges the psychosomatic interpretation, suggesting that perception is not limited by the human body and is instead influenced by the environment.

He emphasizes the importance of invariants and forms in the perceptual act, arguing that direct perception and the registration of invariance are essential for understanding perception.

Wolfgang Smith highlights Gibson's work as a radical departure from the Cartesian paradigm, calling for a re-evaluation of empirical sciences and emphasizing the metaphysical realism of perception.

Color constancy is the phenomenon where we perceive an object's color as the same, despite changes in light.

This occurs even with unfamiliar objects, challenging the idea of mental inference based on past experiences.

The concept is related to direct perception, where the eye-brain-body system works together, and is also linked to modal perception, where we perceive whole objects even when only parts are visible.

The Phenomenological Analysis of Identity and Information

The perception of an object, like a cube, involves experiencing its different sides and aspects, highlighting the relationship between presence and absence.

Information plays a crucial role in visual perception, with a distinction between Shannon information (quantitative) and semantic information (meaningful).

The concept of information as a formal principle and its widespread significance in today's digital age raises questions about its true nature and impact on knowledge and wisdom.

The Connection Between Information, Entropy, and Visual Perception

The interpretation of data, rather than the data itself, is often where the misunderstanding occurs, highlighting the influence of philosophical assumptions.

Landauer's principle suggests that erasing information increases entropy, implying a connection between information and the physical world.

The relationship between ambient light, ecological information, and entropy increase is an area that requires further scientific investigation.