How does role of the unconscious relate to sense of perception?

One is Chaos the other is Order
One extreme is complete imperfection the other extreme is complete perferction.
One is ignorance the other is knowledge
One is Light the other is darkness
One is extreme ly heavy the other is extreme Lightness
One is Life the other is death

One is destructive to it own self and all others
The other other uses both to the perfecting of it ownself and all others.

The subconcious plays a powerful role in all that we do.
Hence the great need for self knowledge and the willingness to examine our thoughts, motives, and reactions. To ‘know’ ourselves on a deep level and be able to articulate our feelings and emotions so we are not subject to running on our unconscious programs.

For those that have many unhealed and unexamined old wounds, low self esteem and great insecurities they are running on their unconscious program, reacting in the present moment from past emotional experience that, often, has little to do with the present moment.

An example might be those that are hyper sensitive to any perceived slight or criticism, no matter how innocent and benign, their unconscious programming will color their perceptions in a most negative light.

This is where ‘projection’, comes into play, seeing the negative qualities of ones own subconscious in others instead of coming from the self.

Those that have work to do in this area will often present as hypersensitive personalities, easily offended, unable to take responsibility for their contributions to a problem and quick to blame others for ‘making’ them feel and behave as they do.

These unexamined subconscious issues are the poster child for the mantra…

The unexamined life ( mind ) is not worth living.

For those that have not done their ‘work’ everyday is Groundhog day, an endless repetition of re-living the past over & over again in the present moment.

Knowing oneself is the most important work we all have to do in this life if we wish to be clear, and fully present in the now.

@earthyearth The unconscious? Or the subconscious?

I’ll give this a theoretical guess, but it is not a formally educated one. But aren’t we discussing matters that are esoteric in nature? I suppose that, that gives me permission, to ponder openly a matter in which I cannot say I am an expert on.

I believe that consciousness is what is rendered from perceived reality, after filters filtrate. The filtrated elements go into the subconscious and constitute it. The unconscious is the unknown, and perhaps therefore un-perceivable.

My answer to your query would be: that the unconscious does not relate, to the sense of perception, at least not in a manner that can be perceived.

Or perhaps the door to the unconscious lies down the passageway of the subconscious. And the subconscious is the liaison to both the conscious and unconscious.

Much of the groundwork of perception happens on an unconscious level.

First, there is an unconscious screening of input from the senses which determines what needs attending to. At any given time, only a small fraction of what the sense organs transmit to the brain actually reaches the level of conscious perception. The selection process by which some stimuli are flagged for perception and others are rejected is an unconscious one.

Also, a large portion—some would say the vast majority— of our visual perception is actually synthesized by the brain on an unconscious level (this has been widely studied in vision, less so with the other senses). The actual input from the eye is only a suggestion from which the brain fleshes out the scene we see. This final result—the actual percept—is conscious, but the process by which it is created is not.

If you want to do more reading on the subject, the neurologist V.S. Ramachandran has done some fascinating research on the unconscious processes behind perception. He has written several books, but here are a couple of online articles that deal with some of his better-known research

@everephebe it does relate its in my ToK (Theory of Knowledge) class :(

@earthyearth
Well, I just offered my $0.02. I still feel it is hard to measure or quantify one’s unconsciousness, but as I said, I am no expert. V.S. Ramachandran is an expert though I thought @thorninmud had a great answer.

Who’s unconscious are we talking about, Freud’s, Jung’s, contemporary cognitive psychology’s, neuroscience’s view on it?

If it does relate as you insist, then the answer you’re looking for is in the textbook, or someone’s notes on the lecture your professor gave about it. I don’t understand the perimeters of your question. Or the definition of unconscious you are working with. It seems like you are looking for a specific answer to a homework assignment or exam question. @earthyearth Help us out if you want help.

I watched this brilliant thing on TED and perhaps you might pick up a hint or two about it while watching a very entertaining video of a magician. Most magic plays on the very portion of the subconscious portion of our perception to deceive and misdirect and we have NO clue it’s happening. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/keith_barry_does_brain_magic.html

The part of perception that we are aware of is just a small part of what is going on. People who study neuropsychology have learned quite a bit about how different parts of the brain contribute to perception, in large part by studying people who have had damage to a small part of the brain. I recommend reading one of the many popular science books on the subject.