The meaning and modes of perception
Q&A with Bernardo Kastrup 4th Nov 2025
Fizzle, sizzle, crackle and pop all buzz with the meaning they denote. 'Dog' and 'democracy,' on the other hand, mean little by sound alone.
Equally, the Roman numerals I, II and III plainly illustrate their number in contrast with V or X. And whilst you can make a circle with your finger and thumb to signal 'good' in one region of France, the same gesture means 'worthless' in another.
So what is the relationship between name and named? Between symbol and symbolised?
Bernardo has proposed the airplane dashboard as a metaphor for perception, emphasising that what we perceive represents something beyond our direct experience.
But whilst a rose may smell as sweet in any language, could some names and representations carry more power than mere signposts?
In the opening of the Babylonian creation myth the gods without names have destinies "yet undetermined." The importance of names is further emphasised in the first line, when "the heaven had not been named."
Today is our 3rd session examining the dashboard of perception. We'll take questions on it's relationship to reality, between will and representation, previously submitted here.
Recordings of part one and two are here:
Amir Giles
Amir Giles
Questions are harvested from the comments section at the bottom of this page:
Amir Giles