DAVID MARR’S COMPUTATIONAL THEORY OF VISION AND IT’S IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING PERCEPTION AS AN IDEA IN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS

Abstract David Marr’s computational theory of vision revolutionized the scientific understanding of perception by proposing a three-tiered framework: the computational, algorithmic, and implementational levels. Adopting and evaluative method, this theory situates vision not merely as a passive reception of sensory data but as an active, information-processing system aimed at interpreting the environment. In the context of African philosophical traditions where perception is often embedded within holistic, communal, and spiritual worldviews Marr’s theory presents both challenges and opportunities. While it offers a rigorous, mechanistic explanation of visual perception, it also prompts a re-examination of how African thought conceptualizes perception as interconnected with metaphysical, ancestral, and moral dimensions. This paper explores the possibility of a cross-dialogue between Marr’s model and African epistemologies, particularly how computational models might coexist with indigenous interpretations that emphasize relationality, intuition, and symbolic meaning in perceptual experience. Keywords: Computational Vision, Perception, African Philosophy, Epistemology