| Meaning | Perceive, an operation (cogitatio-operatio) of the mind perceiving 1. the affections of the body with which it is in unity, and 2. its own ideas. Percipere is a passive form of cogitatio-operatio (see below) In the process of percipere an idea is formed which may be inadequate |
| Related concepts | All other types of cogitatio-operatio, including will and all emotions |
| Occurrence | [geomap] |
| {1d04 attributus} ... at its very first occurrence percipere is a very complicated thought-operation: one leading to the idea that something is the essence of something else ... and the perceiving thing (res) is the intellect ... | |
| ... By attribute, I mean that which the intellect perceives as constituting the essence of substance. | ... Per attributum intelligo id quod intellectus de substantia percipit tanquam ejusdem essentiam constituens. |
| {1p10 attributum concipi per se} ... referring to {1d04}, percipere and concipere together in one string ... | |
| ... Each particular attribute of the one substance must be conceived through itself. | ... Unumquodque unius substantiae attributum per se concipi debet. |
| ... An attribute is that which the intellect perceives of substance, as constituting its essence (Def. iv.), and, therefore, must be conceived through itself ... | ... Attributum enim est id quod intellectus de substantia percipit tanquam ejus essentiam constituens (per definitionem 4 {1d04}) adeoque ... per se concipi debet ... |
| {1p23 modus infinitus absoluta} ... percipere and concipere together in one string ... | |
| ... A mode exists in something else, through which it must be conceived ... that is ... solely through God can be conceived. If therefore a mode is conceived as necessarily existing and infinite, it must necessarily be inferred or perceived through some attribute of God ... | ... Modus enim in alio est per quod concipi debet (per definitionem 5) {1d05} hoc est ... per solum Deum concipi potest. Si ergo modus concipitur necessario existere et infinitus esse, utrumque hoc debet necessario concludi sive [excl non-exh] percipi per aliquod Dei attributum ... |
| {2a1.5 sentimus corpora cogitandi modos} ... here it is not the intellect as in {1d04}, but "we" who feel and perceive (sentimus, percipimus) ... | |
| ... We feel and perceive no particular things, save bodies and modes of thought ... | ... Nullas res singulares praeter corpora et cogitandi modos sentimus nec percipimus ... |
| {2d03 idea} ... percipere is passive, hence a type of causation. A shade of nuance between concipere and percipere ... is perception an cross-attribute operation? ... | |
| ... .idea ... mental conception ... . | ... ideam ... mentis conceptum ... .. |
| ... I say conception rather than perception, because the word perception seems to imply that the mind is passive in respect to the object; whereas conception seems to express an activity of the mind. | ... Dico potius conceptum quam perceptionem quia perceptionis nomen indicare videtur mentem ab objecto pati. At conceptus actionem mentis exprimere videtur. |
| {2p05 Esse formale idearum} ... (res) ideata means the same as (res) percepta ... every perception always creates and idea ... | |
| ... objects (ideata) or the things perceived ... | ... ideata sive [mng-eqv] res perceptas ... |
| {2p11c mens partem infiniti intellectus Dei} ... the theory of percipere and inadaequate percipere ... | |
| ... when we say, that the human mind perceives this or that, we make the assertion, that God has this or that idea, not in so far as he is infinite, but in so far as he is displayed through the nature of the human mind, or in so far as he constitutes the essence of the human mind; and when we say that God has this or that idea, not only in so far as he constitutes the essence of the human mind, but also in so far as he, simultaneously with the human mind, has the further idea of another thing, we assert that the human mind perceives a thing in part or inadequately. | ... cum dicimus mentem humanam hoc vel illud percipere, nihil aliud dicimus quam quod Deus non quatenus infinitus est sed quatenus per naturam humanae mentis explicatur sive [mng-eqv] quatenus humanae mentis essentiam constituit, hanc vel illam habet ideam et cum dicimus Deum hanc vel illam ideam habere non tantum quatenus naturam humanae mentis constituit sed quatenus simul cum mente humana alterius rei etiam habet ideam, tum dicimus mentem humanam rem ex partesive sive [mng-eqv] inadaequate percipere. |
| {2p12 objecto ideae contingit, debet percipi} ... in {1d04} it is "the intellect", in {2a1.5} it is "we" who perceive, but here the perceiving thing is the human mind ... sive [mng-eqv] in mente necessario idea implies that every perception creates an idea, and this always happens whenever something takes place in the associated body ... | |
| ... Whatsoever comes to pass in the object of the idea, which constitutes the human mind, must be perceived by the human mind, or there will necessarily be an idea in the human mind of the said occurrence. That is, if the object of the idea constituting the human mind be a body, nothing can take place in that body without being perceived by the mind. | ... Quicquid in objecto ideae humanam mentem constituentis contingit, id ab humana mente debet percipi ejus rei dabitur in mente necessario idea hoc est si objectum ideae humanam mentem constituentis sit corpus, nihil in eo corpore poterit contingere quod a mente non percipiatur. |
| 2p17s Videmus itaque non sunt veluti praesentia ... curiously calling in experience to warrant postulates ... | |
| ... all my assumptions are based on postulates, which rest, almost without exception, on experience ... | ... omnia illa quae sumpsi postulata, vix quicquam continent quod non constet experientia de qua nobis non licet dubitare ... |
| {2p22 Mens corporis affectiones etiam affectionum ideas} ... the mind perceives the impacts of body but the mind also perceives its own ideas ... | |
| ... .The human mind perceives not only the modifications [Lat: affectiones] of the body, but also the ideas of such modifications [Lat: affectiones]. | ... Mens humana non tantum corporis affectiones sed etiam harum affectionum ideas percipit. |
| {2p23 Mens se non cognoscit nisi} ... self-knowledge of the mind comes only from perceiving the affectiones of the body ... | |
| ... The mind does not know itself, except in so far as it perceives the ideas of the modifications [Lat: affectiones] of the body. | ... Mens se ipsam non cognoscit nisi quatenus corporis affectionum ideas percipit. |
| {2p24 Mens partium corpus non involvit} ... this proposition holds while yet: the mind perceives everything in the body, see quote {2p12} above ... | |
| ... The human mind does not involve an adequate knowledge of the parts composing the human body. | ... Mens humana partium corpus humanum componentium adaequatam cognitionem non involvit. |
| {2p26 mens percipit per ideas affectionum} ... the mind can only trace external bodies by perceiving the affectiones those external bodies cause on its own body ... | |
| ... The human mind does not perceive any external body as actually existing, except through the ideas of the modifications [Lat: affectiones] of its own body. | ... Mens humana nullum corpus externum ut actu existens percipit nisi per ideas affectionum sui corporis. |
| {2p29c mentem confusam tantum cognitionem} ... perceiving ex communi naturae ordine (as leads to remembrance: 2p18s memoria) leads to inadequate knowledge ... | |
| ... the human mind, when it perceives things after the common order of nature, has not an adequate but only a confused and fragmentary knowledge of itself, of its own body, and of external bodies ... | ... ... mentem humanam quoties ex communi naturae ordine res percipit, nec sui ipsius nec sui corporis nec corporum externorum adaequatam sed confusam tantum et mutilatam habere cognitionem ... |
| {2p38 omnibus communia non concipi nisi adaequate} ... here both concipere and percipere are receiving emphatically the predicate adaequate, hence both thought-operations are claimed (in other cases) possibly to lead to inaedequate ideas. In other words: they can be operations of intelligere (by definition leading to adequate ideas) but may as well be imaginatio-operations (often leading to inadequate ideas, except in cases of pure luck - per accidens) ... | |
| ... cannot be conceived except adequately. | ... non possunt concipi nisi adaequate. |
| ... the mind necessarily perceives A adequately, and has this adequate perception, both in so far as it perceives itself, and in so far as it perceives its own or any external body, nor can A be conceived in any other manner ... | ... mens ... A necessario adaequate percipit idque tam quatenus se quam quatenus suum vel [excl exh] quodcunque externum corpus percipit nec A alio modo potest concipi ... |
| {2p44c2 aeternitatis specie} ... it is in the nature (= essentia) of reason to use a special type of percipere ... | |
| ... It is in the nature of reason to perceive things under a certain form of eternity ... | ... De natura rationis est res sub quadam aeternitatis specie percipere. |
| {2p47 Mens adaequatam cognitionem Dei} ... the mind can perceive "from its ideas" (ex quibus) ... | |
| ... The ... mind has ideas ... from which ..it perceives itself and its own body ... and external bodies ... as actually existing ... | ... Mens ... ideas habet ... ex quibus ... se suumque corpus ... et ... corpora externa ut actu existentia percipit ... |
| {3d01 (causa) adaequata^inadaequata, partiale} ... from which can be seen that intelligere is by its meaning clare et distincte but percipere can be not so ... | |
| ... By an adequate cause, I mean a cause through which its effect can be clearly and distinctly perceived. By an inadequate or partial cause, I mean a cause through which, by itself, its effect cannot be understood ... | ... Causam adaequatam appello eam cujus effectus potest clare et distincte per eandem percipi. Inadaequatam autem seu [mng-eqv] partialem illam voco cujus effectus per ipsam solam intelligi nequit. |
| {3p02 Nec corpus mentem determinare potest} ... the perceived state change of a human body, due to an impact is NOT determining the mind ... this ignores perceptio, said (see quotes above) to be always perception of the body and a passive form of idea formation ... the proof is based on {2p06} which similarly ignores the passive nature of perception (as well as {1p16c3} the supra-attribute causa prima, God = natura-sense 2 = substance ) ... | |
| ... Body cannot determine mind to think ... | ... Nec corpus mentem ad cogitandum ... determinare potest. |
| {3p16 imaginamur simile} ... here it is again (as it was in {2p12}) "we" who imagine and perceive ... | |
| ... we imagine ... | ... imaginamur ... ... |
| ... we perceive ... | ... percipimus ... |
| Equivalence claims involving percipere, perceptio | ||
| {1d04} [notes] | 1. attribute 2. that which the intellect perceives as constituting the essence of substance. | 1. attributum 2. id quod intellectus de substantia percipit tanquam ejusdem essentiam constituens. |
| {2p05} | 1. the objects of ideas [Dutch: het gedachte, German: das Gedachte] 2. perceived things | 1. ideata 2. res perceptas |
| {2p11c} | [about perception] 1. partial 2. inadequate | [De perceptioni] 1. partesive 2. inadaequate |
| {2p12} | [About all that comes to pass in the object of the idea, which constitutes the human mind] 1. [it] must be perceived by the human mind 2. there will necessarily be an idea [of it] in the human mind. | [De quicquid in objecto ideae humanam mentem constituentis contingit] 1. id ab humana mente debet percipi 2. ejus rei dabitur in mente necessario idea |
| {2p12} | 1. Whatsoever comes to pass in the object of the idea, which constitutes the human mind, must be perceived by the human mind, or there will necessarily be an idea in the human mind of the said occurrence. 2. if the object of the idea constituting the human mind be a body, nothing can take place in that body without being perceived by the mind. | 1. uicquid in objecto ideae humanam mentem constituentis contingit, id ab humana mente debet percipi sive [mng eqv] ejus rei dabitur in mente necessario idea 2. si objectum ideae humanam mentem constituentis sit corpus, nihil in eo corpore poterit contingere quod a mente non percipiatur. |
| {2p12} | [About the knowledge of things] 1. will necessarily be in the mind 2. the mind perceives it | [De rebus cognitioni] 1.erit necessario in mente 2. mens id percipit |
| {2p38c} | [About perception] 1. adequate 2. clear and distinct | [De perceptioni] 1. adaequate 2. clare et distincte |
| {3d01} [notes] | [About causes] 1. adequate 2. through which its effect can be clearly and distinctly perceived. | [De causis] 1. adaequatam 2. cujus effectus potest clare et distincte per eandem percipi. |
| {4p23} | [About doing] 1. he does something, which is perceived through his essence alone 2. which adequately follows from his virtue | [De actioni] 1. ipsius essentiam percipitur 2. ipsius virtute adaequate sequitur |
| {4p52} | [About perception] 1. clearly and distinctly 2. adequately | [De perceptioni] 1. clare et distincte 2. adaequate |