The World as Perceived

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961), in his discussion on ‘the world as perceived’, mentioned the experience of a regular cube, ‘From the point of view of my body, I never see as equal the six sides of the cube.’[1] One of the definitions of regular cube is that it has six equal sides.  However, one only has to circle around the cube once, in fact, each side one sees changes gradually and then disappears as the position of one’s body changes.  After that, other sides also emerge.  Even with a transparent cube made of glass, we still cannot “see” it has six equal sides.  A cube with six equal sides is only a conception. Of course, such discussion naturally leads one to think of paintings of cubism in which the point of view keeps changing.  It conforms more to the sensual experience of an active body.  However, the severed spaces that look like broken mirror images presented by cubism are insufficient for us to form a holistic impression of the external world.  A certain knowledge or concept is needed to link scattered sensual perceptions together.

Geometrical concepts (such as a regular cube having six identical sides), appear as a means of measurement or knowledge, helping us to master the order of the external world and the relationship between objects.  However, they differ greatly from our visual experience.  We can understand the internal structure of a building, master the distribution of space in different regions and its overall relationship with the area, height and direction by using elevation and floor plans and thus come up with a concept of the building.  However, this concept still cannot replace the bodily experience of space when an individual physically enters the building.  As Merleau-Ponty writes, “I could not grasp the unity of the object without the mediation of bodily experience”.[2]

However, we cannot fully grasp the external world merely through bodily experience, especially when bodily experience is often restricted by physical limitations of the body.  For example, our vision cannot penetrate objects; the activity of the body is restricted by physical agility.  Here, conceptual awareness can often provide compensation.  As a means of perceiving space, a map can help us to make judgments on space such as finding out the directions and understand the relationship among different locations.  It can also guide the body’s activities in an unfamiliar place where the body has not physically confronted before.  In fact, conceptual awareness and bodily experience together form a perceptual system. They are interrelated and interdependent.  They also vary together with the external environment. 

Phenomenology of Perception emphasizes the contribution of the body in grasping the perceived world.  ‘It is our point of view on the world’.  It is also reflected as ‘our expression in the world, the visible form of our intentions’.[3] Merleau-Ponty’s idea of the body as ‘expression in the world’ has no doubt laid the theoretical foundation for related development in art in the twentieth century.

被感知的世界

梅洛龐蒂(1908-1961)在討論「被感知的世界」“The world as perceived” 時，曾提及對一個正立方體的體驗：「從我身體的角度看，我不把立方體的六個面看成是相等的。」有相等的六個面，是正立方體所具備的一種意義，但只要圍繞立方體轉一圈，隨著身體位置的改變，我們所看到的每個面，其實都是逐漸變形，然後消失，再而有其他的面相繼出現，即使是一個用玻璃造的透明立方體，我們仍然不能「看見」它有相等的六個面。具有六個相等面的立方體只是一個概念Conception。這種論述固然容易令人聯想到立體派繪畫，視點的不斷轉移，更符合一個能動的身體的感知經驗，但立體派所呈現猶如破碎鏡影的割裂空間，又不足以構成我們對世界的整全印象，當中需要某些知識或概念去串連零散的感官知覺。

幾何的概念(即如正立方體具有六個相等的面)作為一種測量方法或知識而出現，有助我們掌握外在世界的秩序和事物間的關係，但卻與我們的視覺經驗有極大差距。就好像我們可以利用立視圖elevation及平面圖floor plan去理解建築物的內部結構，掌握不同區域的空間分佈及其面積、高度與方向的整體關係，從而得出一個關於該建築物概念。但此概念仍不能代替身體實際進入建築物，遊走於其間的空間體驗bodily experience of space。正如龐蒂所謂，「如果不通過身體的經驗，我就不可能理解物體的統一性」。

但是，單憑身體的經驗bodily experience，不見得就能完全把握外在世界，特別是身體的經驗很多時都受身體的物理限制所規範(例如視覺不能穿透物件、身體的能動性受制於體能等等)，於此，概念上的認識conceptual awareness，往往就能作出補充。即如地圖作為一種在概念上認識空間的方式(它不涉及身體對空間的直接感知sensation)，可以幫助我們作出對空間的判斷(例如辨清方向，了解視線以外不同地形與景物的關係)，並導引身體在陌生地方的活動，最終使身體感官bodily perception能夠有效地展開。概念上的認識conceptual awareness與身體經驗bodily experience，實際上是共同形成一個知覺系統，它們互為關係，並且一起變化(情況就如大腦的左右兩半)。

知覺現象學揭示了身體在把握知覺世界the perceived world 方面所作的貢獻，「它就是我們對世界的觀點」“it is our point of view on the world”，並體現為「我們在世的表達及意向的可見形式」。“our expression in the world, the visible form of our intentions”龐蒂這種以身體作為表達的構想，無疑為二十世紀藝術的相關發展，奠下理論的依據。