High Level Perception

In chapter four of Douglas Hofstadter’s book on Fluid Concepts, he details the necessary integration of high level perception within our cognitive processes. Furthermore, if one is to research or build an artificial intelligence model then one must consider the aspect of high level perception. Hofstadter explains high level perception as the flexible, semantic, and multi faceted process by which we humans take sensory input and begin to relate it to familiar concepts. High level perception can be processed in different ways by different individuals when determining personal experiences, beliefs, goals, and external context. A major aspect of high level perception is the semantic aspect or the drawing of meanings out of situations, this involves concepts playing a major role in processing of a semantic thought, the more meaning or meanings derived from an individual perception the more concepts it takes into consideration.


This mention of high level perception which Hofstadter details sparked some interesting thoughts in my mind. One does not think daily about certain almost unconscious processes like that of high level perception, yet all mentally healthy humans exhibit it when we think of conceptual aspects related to any input we receive. It seems to me that thought looping and deriving a number of distinct analogies related to a particular input could go hand in hand with high level perception. Hofstadter also mentions that certain artificial intelligence modeling has focused strictly on conceptual processes without incorporating perceptual processing, this approach he argues is not a satisfactory way to model the human mind, and I would have to strongly agree. Human minds are made and molded by the stream of environmental input they receive. If we were to cut out this essential perceptual process we would all be likened to rocks or vegetables. It is our adaptability, distinct reactions, and cognitive conceptual analogous thoughts that make those perceptual inputs so vital to our lives and how we think. I also wondered what part of our brain deals with this aspect of high level perception, I am guessing somewhere in the frontal lobe, but am not sure. One thing is certain, as Hofstadter mentions, high level perception is a vital part of our cognitive processes, and without it humans could not form concepts, analogies, and sense conceptual spheres as quickly and as easily as we do today.