“We see things not as they are but as we are.” Discuss this statement in relation to at least two ways of knowing. "We see things not as they are but as we are." This statement can be interpreted in different ways, but the way I interpret it is that opinions and perspectives vary from person to person. to the person, due to the variety of personal factors that constitute their identity. These factors can include personality, age, culture, race, life experiences, interests, career, and countless others. There are two ways to look at this statement, literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, I will explore what factors cause differences in vision in people. Figuratively speaking, I will discuss what factors play a role in differences in opinion and perspective in people. To begin discussing this statement, we must first define it. We will define “things” as objects, people, problems, and situations in the world around us. We will define “seeing” both in the sense of seeing visually with your eyes, and in the sense of looking at matters from a different mental perspective. You can think of this statement in a literal sense, where we define the word “see” as what someone physically sees with their eyes. This statement is true in this sense, in situations such as that of a color-blind person or a blind person. From a medical perspective, people experiencing vision problems may be the result of diseases or conditions such as glaucoma, optic neuritis, ischemic optic neuropathy, or lobe tumors (1). These visual problems affect a person's ability to acquire knowledge through sensory perception. According to Plato, all our knowledge is based on perceptual experiences, such as seeing or hearing. Is sensory perception a way of...... middle of paper ......tive and are their perspectives somewhat similar? I believe that our perspective is our reality and that our reality comes from what we experience. The human mind is a complex matter and there are countless processes and activities that take place in our brain. As far as I know, and through my life experience, I can say that reason, emotions, and past experiences are the majority of what determines my perspectives and opinions. Others may not agree with what I believe, but that's because they have a different perspective than me, because they have a different life than me. Therefore, they proved my point. Word count: 1550 (text only) 1613 including title and bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY: (1) http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/sym/vision_changes.htm Site accessed January 23, 2010. (2) http://www. sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060118205940.htm Site accessed February 3 2010