The Enigma of Perception

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Submit Abstract by 12 Aug 2025

Confirmed Speakers

Prof. Srinivasa Varakhedi

Vice Chancellor, Central Sanskrit University

Prof. Sachchidananda Mishra

Member Secretary, Indian Council of Philosophical Research

Prof. Arindam Chakrabarti

Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy Ashoka University, former Professor at University of Hawaii Manoa

Prof. Madhusudan Penna

Director, Publications
Former VC, KKSU

Prof. Madhumita Chattopadhyaya

Professor, Department of Philosophy, and Coordinator, Centre for Buddhist Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Prof. Daniel Raveh

Professor of Indian and Comparative philosophy, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Dr. Venkatesh Chembrolu

Dean Academics, IIT Mandi

Dr. Sohom Chakrabarty

Associate Professor, IIT Roorkee

Mr. Parveen Kumar

Director, ISS Delhi

Dr. Jyotiranjan Beuria

Principal Investigator, ISS Delhi

Dr. Nivedita Chaturvedi

Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi

9 am – 7 pm, 24 August 2025 at LHC, IIT Delhi

Key Themes

1. Role of Perception (Pratyakṣa) in Indian Philosophy
Pratyakṣa (direct perception) is a primary means of valid knowledge (pramāṇa) in nearly all Indian philosophical systems. It is rigorously analyzed in theistic philosophies such as Nyāya, Sāṃkhya, etc., and Buddhist epistemologies as foundational for cognition, inference, and action. This theme explores how perception is situated within broader epistemic and metaphysical frameworks.

2. Stages of Perception in Indian Philosophy and Cognitive Science
Indian thought outlines a multi-stage model of perception—from sense-object contact (indriyārtha-sannikarṣa) to mental processing via manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), and the emergence of self-awareness (ahaṃkāra). Classical schools like Nyāya further distinguish between nirvikalpa pratyakṣa (non-conceptual, pre-predicative perception) and savikalpa pratyakṣa (conceptual, determinate perception), emphasizing the transition from raw sensation to categorized cognition. Modern cognitive science offers parallel models involving bottom-up sensory integration, top-down attention, and the formation of conscious access through categorization and memory. This theme compares these layered accounts to uncover common principles and divergent assumptions about how perception becomes knowledge.

3. Perception and Physical Reality
How do perceptual processes relate to reality? Indian philosophies offer varied views: Advaita sees the world as Māyā, while Buddhism emphasizes impermanence. Vaiṣṇava Vedānta—especially Achíntya-bhedābheda—asserts the world is simultaneously distinct from and non-different from the divine, grounding perception in divine ontology. Contemporary thinkers like Don Hoffman argue perception is a species-specific interface, not a direct reflection of objective reality, and Bernardo Kastrup’s Analytic Idealism holds consciousness as fundamental, with the physical world as mental representation. This theme explores convergences in how both traditions rethink the relation between perception and reality.

4. Selfhood, Agency, and Awareness
Indian traditions present nuanced theories of the self—ranging from the eternal, unchanging Ātman in Vedānta to the no-self (anattā) doctrine in Buddhism. These views are intimately connected to how agency, continuity, and reflexive awareness arise in perception. Contemporary research on the minimal self, embodied cognition, and metacognitive processes explores similar questions through empirical methods. This theme bridges philosophical and scientific accounts of selfhood, offering insights into how the perceiver is constituted in and through experience.

5. Models of Perception and Cognitive Science
Nyāya realism, Yogācāra idealism, Advaita non-dualism, and Vaiṣṇava Vedānta—especially Achíntya-bhedābheda—offer distinct models of perception and its relation to reality. These are juxtaposed with contemporary models like predictive coding, global workspace theory, and enactivism. This theme explores how models across traditions explain perception, error, and conscious experience.

6. Perception and AI
Can machines perceive the world as humans do? Indian theories of cognition—distinguishing faculties such as manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), and citta (consciousness)—offer novel frameworks for modeling perception, memory, and inference in artificial systems. This theme explores parallels between these cognitive components and AI architectures for attention and sense-making, while also addressing deeper questions of machine sentience, consciousness, and the ethical implications of building systems that mimic or simulate human-like perception.

Agenda

Session	Time	Topic
Session 1	09:00 – 11:00	Theme 1 and 2
Tea Break	11:00 – 11:30
Session 2	11:30 – 13:30	Theme 3 and 4
Lunch Break	13:30 – 15:00
Session 3	15:00 – 17:00	Theme 5 and 6
Poster Session	17:00 – 18:00	Thematic display of posters and discussions
Cultural Program	18:00 – 19:00

Poster Guidelines

Size: A0 (Portrait – 84.1 cm x 118.9 cm)
Suggested Structure: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References
Font: Title ≥ 36pt, Body ≥ 24pt
Design Tips: Use visuals, avoid dense text, maintain high contrast, check Sanskrit formatting
Abstract Submission Deadline: 12 August 2025
Submit yout abstract at: https://forms.gle/fHLt7L5T7QsbkAqP9
Only selected abstracts will be permitted for poster presentations.
Selected abstracts will be requested for subsequent full length article submission to be published in a monograph with ISBN.
On-site Display: Bring printed poster and attend Poster Session (5:00 – 6:00 PM)