Phenomenology

I recently ran across the concept of Phenomenology. The dictionary defines it as:

quote:

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phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy\ ( P ) Pronunciation Key (f-nm-nl-j)
n.
1. A philosophy or method of inquiry based on the premise that reality consists of objects and events as they are perceived or understood in human consciousness and not of anything independent of human consciousness.

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Now, I don't wanna get into a discussion about some new-age crap dealing with the Matrix and Brains in Jars. I'm seriously curious as to how far us human beings are trapped by our perceptions.I suppose this question is more for the scientific folks who frequent here at the EVC. I would like to explore with them, the limits of empiricism, and how our perceptual capabilities may limit what we can know/understand.i.e. : Are there some things we will never be able to understand due to the limits of our perceptions? If our 5 senses are all the input we get, does that mean there is some sort of data we may be being excluded from?EDIT: fixed spelling and such.This message has been edited by Yaro, 09-21-2005 04:22 PM

Yes, I agree. But these tools basically "translate" data into something we can input using one of our five senses. They turn things into images, or numbers, or digital information.Further, all of the technologies you mentioned deal with things that are phisicaly interactive. You can touch, hear and see these things. My answer traditionaly would be "Of course, 'REAL' things can be seen, heard, smelled, or interacted with physicaly (touch) on some level.", but isn't that the kicker? It seems that what we define as 'REAL' is that which we can percive.Does that mean there could possibly be something else outside of our perception? Are there boundaries to what we CAN percive?

Hey crash, that's a good point. But one problem that imediatly comes to mind with this is are we losing something in the translation? Think of it this way.Migrating birds can sense the elctromagnetic field of the earth and are able to guide their flight this way. Now, we can use instraments ranging from simple things like a compas to more complex gadgets that I don't even know the names of But do we really get an idea of how the bird really 'feels' those electromagnetic lines?I once heard someone describe a dogs sense of smell as allowing the animal to 'see' smells. To actually be able to get a 3D sense of the smell. Dogs transmit bookloads of info thrugh smell. Can we ever truely understand what that is like?Does that make sense?

No, do tell?