I don't mind a little side discussion about memory or whatever. But, I think you are on point in discussing perception in a thread about "The Doors of Perception".Terrapin Station wrote: ↑June 8th, 2021, 7:07 amBecause per the initial post of this thread, "The concept (or anti-concept) seems to be that we tend to encounter the world through concepts and language . . ."
We encounter the world via our perceptions. Not every human's encounters with the world via perceptions necessarily (/100% of the time) involves concepts and language.
Huxley is saying that our perceptions are accompanied most of the time by meaning, by implications and by a call for responses, in many cases, to what we (think) we see. He is saying something I see in stoic philosophy and other places. We are apt to add our opinion to what we see without realizing it, to see the present in terms of the past and the future, and to confuse our opinions of what we see for the perceptions themselves. This tendency is hard-wired in people as a tool of survival, enabling us to quickly see dangers or food and react in the best way possible before getting hurt or going hungry. But, it still plays out in situations where no danger is present and we are not in danger of missing a meal. When we allow it to do so, we can miss out, or even act horribly without realizing it. We get locked in to the logic and forget that an unproven assumption often lies at the foundation.
Huxley is advising uncertainty. He is saying we should set aside our ego and opinions and try to see the world just as it is if we are able. He is advocating empathy, love and due care for ourselves, others and the world. He is pointing out how much we can miss if we presume we already have things figured out.