Ways of Seeing

There are two ways of seeing; there is the penetrative gaze and there is the receptive gaze. The penetrative gaze belongs to predators; it is the seeking eye that precedes action and the evil eye that alters the receiver. The receptive gaze, however, is open with active-passivity. It draws the image in, creating a panorama. Both ways require intent. It is not something you do just by opening your eyes, and you cannot do both at the same time.

The analogies I have used are not to be confused with the mechanics of perception. Since antiquity, there has been a debate as to whether light issues from the eye (i.e. the extramission theory of Plato, eyes having ‘fire within’), or whether the eye receives light (i.e. the theory of intromission, first advocated by Aristotle). According to modern ophthalmology, the process is a lot more complicated, but leans towards the latter. What I am discussing has less to do with the structures of the eye, and more to do with the mind.

Just like the intromission vs. extramission debate, there has been a tendency to see perception as unidirectional. Either sight extends out, or it comes in. Camille Paglia, for instance, describes the eye as a ‘projectile’, and frequently uses the epithet…