| Contents > Just What Are Perceptions? by Marian Rhydderch |
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Just What Are Perceptions?
Just what are perceptions? It depends who you ask! Ask a financier and perceptions, he might say, perceptions are those slippery, yet powerful impulses that drive the commodities market. These perceptions, could be defined as impulses which need to be managed. Ask a psychologist and she would say, amongst other things, perception is simply a biological process (Blake & Sekuler, 2006). Having substituted the word ‘perception’ with the word ‘process’, a psychologist can then more easily say what a process does; say that a perceptionallows us to shape our knowledge of our world. It therefore follows in that discipline, that perceptions allow each of us to construct “a personal theory of reality” (Blake & Sekuler, 2006). It seems that it is easier to understand the verb to perceive, than the noun perception. Understanding perception as an impulse, or as a biological process is not very helpful to historians. The adjective historians most often couple with this noun, is ‘powerful’, and such a dynamic duo deserves to be better understood on historians’ terms.
So, just what are perceptions? If we take one perception at a time, if we say perception is reality, not a theory of reality, then strangely enough, this noun becomes a little more understandable for historians. Let me put an ancient perception before you. Apollo, the god of prophecy, healing and other attributes, was willing to share his knowledge of the future with mankind. For some, if not all, this was a reality. By the 5th century BCE this perception had a history of its own (Hymn to Hermes, trans.Sargent, 1973). 1 Singing about it, changed to recording it, questioning it, acknowledging it, discussing it – these were all activities, which strengthened this perception, which gave it a certain power. Having claimed that perception is reality, it is time to test this claim against the evidence from different literary genres.
Translations throughout this paper, chapter and verse references, are from the Loeb Classical Library of ancient texts. The old English, has been somewhat modernized as necessary.
Herodotos, ‘the father of history’ created this genre. To him it was a learning by enquiry – historia. Herodotos, a Greek from Halicarnassus, modern Bodrum on the south west coast of Turkey, wrote his Histories, in the last half of the fifth century BCE. Towards the end of his long narrative, Herodotos tells his audience:
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“I have no way of denying the truth of oracles, when clearly spoken, nor would I wish to attempt to deny them their truth when I look into such matters.” The matters here, concern the Greek victory over the Persian invader, as foretold in an oracle. He goes on to say again:“I do not venture to speak against oracular responses, nor will I listen to criticism from others.” (Herodotos, trans. 1966)
Reality for Herodotos, although obviously not for everyone, was the provision of oracular truth. This reality came with one qualification - oracles needed to be spoken clearly. How did he see this reality working? He tells his audience, even reminds those who could remember back perhaps to the spring of 480 BCE, according to How and Wells (1912) of the day at Delphi when the Pythia, Apollo’s priestess uttered two oracles. The first oracle told the Athenians they must all flee for their lives, that the Persians were about to completely destroy their city. The second, given after the delegation begged as suppliants for a better oracle, contained a strange hint of hope. Both oracles had been spoken clearly by Aristonice, and therefore, according to Herodotos’ thinking, both oracles offered divine truth, but a truth that only worked for man if he applied himself to the difficult task of correctly interpreting the words and acting upon them as the god had intended. The Athenians had done this and therefore deserved to be regarded as “the saviours of Hellas.” (Herodotos, trans. 1966). This was Herodotos’ opinion, an opinion he felt compelled to articulate, even though he knew it would be“displeasing to most.” (Herodotos, trans 1966). Herodotos regarded the Athenian defeat of the Persians as evidence for Apollo’s magnanimity at work. This reality, this perception underpinned his writing. Interestingly, this ancient perception has fared very badly over time. There is a certain modern smugness in the phrase post eventum knowledge, and when applied to Herodotos it means that by the 450s or later, Herodotos simply knew the Athenians had beaten the Persians at Salamis. We have to ask ourselves as historians, did later events explain foreknowledge for Herodotos? Surely the answer is to be found in his own words: “I have no way of denying the truth of oracles.” (Herodotos, trans. 1966).
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| Contents > Just What Are Perceptions? by Marian Rhydderch |