Since Whitehead's metaphysics described a universe in which all entities experience, he needed a new way of describing perception that was not limited to living, self-conscious beings. The term he coined was "prehension", which comes from the Latin prehensio, meaning "to seize." The term is meant to indicate a kind of perception that can be conscious or unconscious, applying to people as well as electrons. It is also intended to make clear Whitehead's rejection of the theory of representative perception, in which the mind only has private ideas about other entities. For Whitehead, the term "prehension" indicates that the perceiver actually incorporates aspects of the perceived thing into itself. In this way, entities are constituted by their perceptions and relations, rather than being independent of them. Further, Whitehead regards perception as occurring in two modes, causal efficacy (or "physical prehension") and presentational immediacy (or "conceptual prehension"). COUNT 10
QSN1 What is the origin of the word "prehension"? ANS1 comes from the Latin prehensio, meaning "to seize." QSN2 What is a basic description of the theory of representative perception? ANS2 the mind only has private ideas about other entities QSN3 What term did Whitehead describe that perception is not limited to the living? ANS3 prehension QSN4 What language does the term "prehensio" come from? ANS4 Latin QSN5 What does the word "Prehensio" translate into? ANS5 to seize QSN6 What entities does the term prehension apply to? ANS6 conscious or unconscious QSN7 How many modes does perception occur in according to Whitehead? ANS7 two QSN8 What is prehension used to define? ANS8 a kind of perception that can be conscious or unconscious, applying to people as well as electrons QSN9 What does the term "prehension" signify regarding an entities perceptions and relations? ANS9 entities are constituted by their perceptions and relations, rather than being independent of them QSN10 What did Whitehead state are the two types of perception? ANS10 causal efficacy (or "physical prehension") and presentational immediacy (or "conceptual prehension")