مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Theological Origins of Modern Perception Theory: The Problem of Free Will and Determinism

Abstract :

Since the beginning of 20th century, how people understand and perceive external world has become a perennial concern of social sciences. The existence of a solitary reality apart from human stance was relinquished. By following this idea, it became a common discussion topic that ‘reality is the result of a convention among people’ in the modern conditions which people become builders of each reality. In parallel with this idea, the problems regarding how people perceive external world in philosophy and social sciences have become more significant. Therefore, the position, function and facility of the subject which perceive the other objects from different viewpoints became a more significant issue with the increasing interest in perception theories. To reach the reality, the transition from the problem of which methods people should follow to the problem of how people perceive reality based on their position is the outcome of various social and intellectual developments. Nominalism dominated Northern Europe and became determinative. Then, it expanded, first, to Europe and, then, to the world. In the discussions of ‘free will and determinism’ between, first, Luther and Erasmus, and then, between Descartes and Hobbes, there are two major components increasing the interest toward perception theories that they positioned the modern subject in the center of everything, and free will became widespread. In this sense, theological roots of perception theories which appeal particularly to social psychology and communication sciences should be scrutinized within the context of intellectual history. Thus, the interconnections between theological studies and social sciences can be revealed, and some certain science fields which make use of perception theory can become aware of the intellectual roots of the methods and techniques they have been using. Furthermore, perception theories are so effective on shaping several methods used in communication sciences that the theological origins of these perception theories should be analyzed because the analyses about how people perceive outer world have significant effects on the establishment of communication systems.