7. What does Abel mean when he says: "to perceive is to solve a problem"?
When Abel says "to perceive is to solve a problem" he means that once the mind embarks on the desire to see something, it also embarks on the ability to try and solve the problem. And once you perceive anything, such as the sky being blue, you solve the problem of what color the sky is. You may not solve why, but if you perceive it enough, the perception will translate into knowing it. Stepping back from the equation allows you to know what exactly is going on.
8. What is the role of social conditioning in determining how things "naturally look"?
Society determines how you see things. It determines what is normal and what is not, and therefore, it conditions your mind to believe as the community around you believes. In turn, anything perceived as its "natural look" is what has been determined by the community, and does not necessarily translate into other cultures, times, or locations. For instance, the African tribes with their insane piercings or the Native Alaskans who chew food for their parents and spit it into their mouth is considered not natural or right in this society. But in theirs, it is considered perfectly natural and nothing is said about it.
9. What is significant of the Durer rhinoceros story? How was the influence of convention demonstrated when some tribes were given a photograph?
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11. What does Abel mean when he writes: believing is seeing? How might this point be seen in the study of the natural and the social sciences?
If you have faith in an object, you believe in it. Therefore, if you believe in theories projected by natural sciences, you see a light of it, and a possibility. Perhaps you see the truth. But you do see something, that is certain. In the social sciences, the same goes. If you believe something, you are truly seeing it. Furthermore, people, once they believe in something, will strive to prove it and defend it until it is visible to others.
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