apperception
Americannoun
-
the attainment of full awareness of a sensation or idea
-
the act or process of apperceiving
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of apperception
First recorded in 1745–55; from French or directly from New Latin (Leibnitz) apperceptiōn-, stem of apperceptiō. See ap- 1, perception
Explanation
Apperception is how your mind puts new information in context. You get a perception of a chair through your eyes, but apperception is how your mind relates it to chairs you've seen before. We have many perceptions: information we take in through our senses, like "It's cloudy today." An apperception goes one step further by considering the perception in relation to things you’ve perceived in the past. "There's Julia" is a perception, but "Julia is my friend" is an apperception, because it's based on past experience. "My stomach hurts" is a perception, but "I might throw up" is an apperception. Apperception is a sophisticated mental process that keeps developing through our lives.
Vocabulary lists containing apperception
Flowers for Algernon
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cept, capt, ceive (take, hold, seize)
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capt, cept, ceive, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He agreed with Herbart regarding the philosophy of apperception so far as it related to intellectual culture, but he painted Jo entirely out of harmony with Herbart’s psychology in relation to soul development.
From Dickens As an Educator by James L. (James Laughlin) Hughes
Kant then proceeds to introduce what he evidently considers the keystone of his system, viz. 'transcendental apperception.'
From Kant's Theory of Knowledge by Harold Arthur Prichard
For this term indicates the relation of these representations to the original apperception, and also their necessary unity, even though the judgement itself is empirical, and therefore contingent, e. g.
From Kant's Theory of Knowledge by Harold Arthur Prichard
Fleeing the loud-rolling world with her new apperception, she sped Far to the heart of the moon, where her father, the moon-god, received her.
From Istar of Babylon A Phantasy by Margaret Horton Potter
The shortest way to understand the Stoic principle is through the psychological doctrine of apperception.
From The Five Great Philosophies of Life by William De Witt Hyde
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
