--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing of which the act of perception…" description: "\"The thing of which the act of perception is the perception is experienced as something not mental.\" — Samuel Alexander" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8e/samuel-alexander-21876_perception_the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception_1843282.jpg" --- # The thing of which the act of perception is the perception… ![“The thing of which the act of perception is the perception is experienced as something not mental.” quote by Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8e/samuel-alexander-21876_perception_the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception_1843282.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8e/samuel-alexander-21876_perception_the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception_1843282.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8e/samuel-alexander-21876_perception_the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception_1843282.jpg) > “The thing of which the act of perception is the perception is experienced as something not mental.” [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perception is both the act and the object; the experience of perceiving is itself a mental event. **In simple terms:** Seeing is both doing and being seen. Key Takeaway Reflect on how you experience perception. Themes philosophy consciousness epistemology Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - art criticism - psychology - education - meditation Key Concepts phenomenology mind‑body problem Questions to Reflect On - How does this view change your understanding of reality? - Can you apply it to everyday observations? A Different Perspective Complex concepts can be abstract for lay audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [Every act of perception, is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/every-act-of-perception-is-to-some-degree-an-act-of-creation-and/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [We've all got people who have experienced mental illness, and my mum was a community nurse for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-whitehouse/we-ve-all-got-people-who-have-experienced-mental-illness-and-my-mum/) [Paul Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-whitehouse/) > [All the universes are bound together by a web, a matrix, which is our perception. And our perception actually has colors; it has bands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/all-the-universes-are-bound-together-by-a-web-a-matrix-which-is-our/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [What we're seeking to do is internalize perception. Perception is very much involved with the senses and the mental processes and the emotional processes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/what-we-re-seeking-to-do-is-internalize-perception-perception-is-very/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Science and philosophy have for centuries been sustained by unquestioning faith in perception. Perception opens a window on to things. This means that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-and-philosophy-have-for-centuries-been-sustained-by/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Reality is perception. Perception is description. Description is creation. Creation is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krae/reality-is-perception-perception-is-description-description-is/) [David Krae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krae/) > [Language is not a handmaiden to perception; it is perception; it gives shape to what would otherwise be inert and dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/language-is-not-a-handmaiden-to-perception-it-is-perception-it-gives/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [Self is the perception of perception. Beyond self there's no perception of perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/self-is-the-perception-of-perception-beyond-self-there-s-no/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We do not know enough about how the present will lead into the future. We shall never be able to say, "Ha! My perception,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-do-not-know-enough-about-how-the-present-will-lead-into-the-future/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [There is no reality, only perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/there-is-no-reality-only-perception/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [As a scientist, objectivity is one of my most deeply held values. If we could just try harder, I once thought, surely we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-everett/as-a-scientist-objectivity-is-one-of-my-most-deeply-held-values-if-we/) [Daniel Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-everett/) > [Perception can be changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/perception-can-be-changed/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [The new limitations are the human ones of perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-babbitt/the-new-limitations-are-the-human-ones-of-perception/) Milton Babbitt > [We're trapped on this very thin slice of perception ... But even at that slice of reality that we call home, we're not seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-re-trapped-on-this-very-thin-slice-of-perception-but-even-at-that/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) ## More by Samuel Alexander > [“Time is the Mind of Space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/time-is-the-mind-of-space/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [For psychological purposes the most important differences in conation are those in virtue of which the object is revealed as sensed or perceived or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/for-psychological-purposes-the-most-important-differences-in-conation/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [The mental act of sensation which issues in reflex movement is so simple as to defy analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/the-mental-act-of-sensation-which-issues-in-reflex-movement-is-so/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [An object is not first imagined or thought about and then expected or willed, but in being actively expected it is imagined as future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/an-object-is-not-first-imagined-or-thought-about-and-then-expected-or/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Curiosity begins as an act of tearing to pieces or analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/curiosity-begins-as-an-act-of-tearing-to-pieces-or-analysis/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Psychology is the science of the act of experiencing, and deals with the whole system of such acts as they make up mental life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/psychology-is-the-science-of-the-act-of-experiencing-and-deals-with/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [But unfortunately Locke treated ideas of reflection as if they were another class of objects of contemplation beside ideas of sensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/but-unfortunately-locke-treated-ideas-of-reflection-as-if-they-were/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [It may be added, to prevent misunderstanding, that when I speak of contemplated objects in this last phrase as objects of contemplation, the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/it-may-be-added-to-prevent-misunderstanding-that-when-i-speak-of/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Hence, in desiring, the more the enjoyment is delayed, the more fancy begins to weave about the object images of future fruition, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/hence-in-desiring-the-more-the-enjoyment-is-delayed-the-more-fancy/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Both expectations and memories are more than mere images founded on previous experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/both-expectations-and-memories-are-more-than-mere-images-founded-on/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Desire then is the invasion of the whole self by the wish, which, as it invades, sets going more and more of the psychical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/desire-then-is-the-invasion-of-the-whole-self-by-the-wish-which-as-it/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [You can mark in desire the rising of the tide, as the appetite more and more invades the personality, appealing, as it does, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/you-can-mark-in-desire-the-rising-of-the-tide-as-the-appetite-more/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [The sensory acts are accordingly distinguished by their objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/the-sensory-acts-are-accordingly-distinguished-by-their-objects/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Mental life is indeed practical through and through. It begins in practice and it ends in practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/mental-life-is-indeed-practical-through-and-through-it-begins-in/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) > [Such being the nature of mental life, the business of psychology is primarily to describe in detail the various forms which attention or conation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/such-being-the-nature-of-mental-life-the-business-of-psychology-is/) [Samuel Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) [Explore all 28 Samuel Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/) ## More Perception quotes > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [There's no reason for men to be better at maths than women - it's just about our perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/there-s-no-reason-for-men-to-be-better-at-maths-than-women-it-s-just/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [When you hang the 'bipartisan' tag on something, the perception is that differences have been worked out, and there's a broad agreement that that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/when-you-hang-the-bipartisan-tag-on-something-the-perception-is-that/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [We're trapped on this very thin slice of perception ... But even at that slice of reality that we call home, we're not seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-re-trapped-on-this-very-thin-slice-of-perception-but-even-at-that/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If people in Indonesia look 'different', they are afraid. Racist insults fly if someone does not look like part of the majority. Indonesia is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/if-people-in-indonesia-look-different-they-are-afraid-racist-insults/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [Plato compared the intellect to a charioteer guiding the powerful horses of the passions, i.e., he gave it both the power of perception and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-cattell/plato-compared-the-intellect-to-a-charioteer-guiding-the-powerful/) [Raymond Cattell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-cattell/) > [The new limitations are the human ones of perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-babbitt/the-new-limitations-are-the-human-ones-of-perception/) Milton Babbitt > [Gasoline inventories are tighter than they were a few weeks ago. It's all about perception, because inventories are well above where they have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-cooper/gasoline-inventories-are-tighter-than-they-were-a-few-weeks-ago-it-s/) Kyle Cooper > [As a society, we have this perception that women are emotional. The research, however, tells us that, on trading floors, that poor risk rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallie-krawcheck/as-a-society-we-have-this-perception-that-women-are-emotional-the/) [Sallie Krawcheck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallie-krawcheck/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Perception can be changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/perception-can-be-changed/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) [Browse all 3,687 Perception quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing of which the act of perception is the perception is experienced as something not mental.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Alexander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception-is-the-perception-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Perception" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception-is-the-perception-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8e/samuel-alexander-21876_perception_the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception_1843282.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8e/samuel-alexander-21876_perception_the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception_1843282.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8e/samuel-alexander-21876_perception_the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception_1843282.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing of which the act of perception is the perception is experienced as something not mental.” — Samuel Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Samuel Alexander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alexander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The thing of which the act...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception-is-the-perception-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alexander/the-thing-of-which-the-act-of-perception-is-the-perception-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```