Abstract:
This paper aims to comparatively analyze the approaches of sense-datum theory and Intentional
theory on perception. In epistemology, the concept of perception has become a hotly debatable
investigation area since the 17th century via the expansion of Empiricism. Various accounts had been
created by the empiricists such as John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume, in relation to the
problems of perception. Those accounts led to several theories in the contemporary period such as
sense-datum theory, Adverbial theory, Intentional theory, Disjunctive theory, etc. However, each and
every theory has pros and cons itself. Hence, among all the contemporary theories of perception,
sense-datum theory and Intentional theory have been taken for comparative analysis. According to
sense-datum theory, in our perception, we directly aware of sense data, but not the physical objects.
In contradiction to this, according to intentional theory, perception is a kind propositional attitude,
similar to belief. Both these theories accept perception as a valuable source of knowledge. Even
though, the way they are addressing the solution for the problems of perception differs from one
another. In this paper, comparative analysis between these two theories has been done in two ways.
One is based on the three key principles of perception such as common factor principle, phenomenal
principle, and representational principle, as all the perception theories end up rejecting one or more of
them. Another one is based on the arguments for and against those theories. According to the
analysis, in comparing with intentional theory, the sense-datum theory is the best approach as a
response to the problem of perception. This research has been done based on secondary data
especially from related books, scholarly articles from journals on related topics, and recognized
sources of the web. The researcher has utilized the analytical, comparative, and descriptive methods
for analyzing the data gathered.
Keywords: Problems of Perception; Principles of Perception; Sense datum theory; Intentional theory
