Do we only perceive the surface

The psychology of perception is an interesting area; because perception – how we see and evaluate other people is important.

First of all, at a fundamental (very basic) level we use our senses, eyes, ears, smell etc

but we all uses our references i.e our language references, using your 'Thatcher' reference.

Also this reference may reveal; the persons political stance. It tells more about him than it does about you.

So our psychology of perception is reliant on our senses, our linguistic (language) references et al

(amongst other things).

Let us say that you as a perceiver of others are rational, reasonable and you claim to look 'objectively' at the world.

Now objectivism is the belief ‘that the actual elements perceived by our senses are in themselves the elements of a common world; and out there in the world what we see is what there is. So our acts

of cognition (what our brain perceives and filter) say 'that student sounds Thatcherite; this is a facile (easy to make) and derogatory (insulting) perception and might show in the observer a

dearth (lack)

of references.

But in regard to getting a real or true (and truth itself has to be looked at as it changes with time ie the world was flat now it is round) perception the world is complex of things we see.

And our acts of cognition are complex. Transcending (going above) what we think we perceive in our day to day perceptions is modern physics.

1) we see the day to day world

2) we have to be conscious to see the world, ergo (therefore) we must use consciousness

3) but now we must look at consciousness itself

4) and here we stop, because no one really can tell us what consciousness (the mind) is.

5) So our perceptions are incomplete and imperfect

The basic assumption of science is that there are certain facts of common observation on which all reasonable people can agree, 'that bus is red' 'I am now eating a sausage'

and which repay communal (all of us) investigation. These facts may include observations of the behaviour of individuals 'Thatcherite' or societies (left wing/ right wing) binary (one side or the other type observations), and even the expressed thoughts of individuals, but not what was going on in the conscious mind of the speaker.

For we have no means of entering into the consciousness of another, nor is there any manifest property of matter that gives the smallest clue to how conscious mind could come to be.