A young woman I know was puzzled when she mentioned how she was surprised to see a cat-sized rat crossing a busy street in the city center, yet nobody seemed to notice.
I recalled a statement by my former colleague, who graduated from the philosophy department, mentioning Ferdinand de Saussure’s idea that “Without a name, we cannot recognize an object.”
I am a primitive, sensory-oriented individual who doesn’t particularly rely on names, so the concept seemed incomprehensible to me. However, I thought this could be another example of such a perspective.
They wouldn’t even bother turning around with their understanding limited to the concept of a cat that they know.
Many people merely perceive what is in front of them by fitting it into one of the predetermined frames that someone else has already established, and they don’t make an effort to see the truth unless someone speaks up.
(provisional transration)