Felt Reality and the Opacity of Perception
Topoi June 1, 2017 Jérôme Dokic, Jean-Rémy Martin
The sense of reality that accompanies perception is distinct from the spatial and sensory contents of experience, as shown by cases of derealization disorder, Parkinson's disease, and virtual reality. The sense of reality is an affective experience similar to a metacognitive feeling, not a feature of the perceived object's spatial or sensory qualities. This account has implications for the debate between Intentionalism and Naïve Realism: because perception is opaque regarding the reality of what is perceived, Intentionalism cannot use the sense of reality to distinguish perception from sensory-like experiences such as imaginings, whereas Naïve Realism can offer an independent explanation of perception's specificity.