forum for week of 2 October

The problem with perception has essentially been created due to the fact that humans often have errors in their perceptions. Our perception of sense data may not always lead us to true beliefs, which poses a big problem both epistemically and in our everyday lives. If there are perceptual illusions and hallucinations, then what justified reasons do we have for trusting our empirical evidence? We know we are often wrong about the things we perceive (a stick looks bent when its half-emerged in water, white walls will look coloured if there are coloured lights, etc), however I believe in combining the data we receive from all our senses, we can create an approximate enough depiction of the world. If the stick looks bent in the water, we can still use our sense of touch to verify. We also have a pretty good idea of when our sense perceptions may not be as accurate. When I don't wear my glasses or contacts, i don't trust any of my visual perceptions, because everything looks like a blur and i know what i am seeing is most likely inaccurate. For humans to have survived as long as they have, and for our lives to function as well as they do, our sense perceptions must function at least to some extent. If we use all of our senses to create a broader depiction of the world, we are more likely to be right about it. Empirical evidence is proven to work based on our everyday lives, at least well enough for us to live comfortably. It is a good place to start when trying to form true beliefs about our world.