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To say that we know something we imply that we have a true and justified belief. There are different ways of knowing, which include sense perception and reason. In this essay, sense perception is defined as the acquisition of knowledge using our senses and reason is defined as a way of knowing that employs logic; a method of thought that does not defy evidence. As appropriate to the situation one way of knowing may be more beneficial than the other but reason and sense perception are not independent of each other, in that, the majority of the time, the ways of knowing are dependent on each other.

An analysis of sense perception requires an understanding of its nature and power. Sense perception involves an active, selective and often interpretative process of achieving conscious knowledge of the external world through our five senses. Sense Perception has both advantages and disadvantages. Knowledge gained in this way is grounded in observable "facts" and is thus termed objective, claims of knowledge may be tested and criticized relatively easily, it is basic to the scientific method, which has proven to be a valuable process in establishing a great deal of our knowledge in the modern world, it is a way of knowing that often can be tested repeatedly. It is also the most believable and effective way of evidence first hand and a rapid way of knowing once your senses can detect the stimulus.

But sense perception is subject to the fact that not all phenomena are easily observable and Perceptions are also affected by their environment as exemplified by the fact that lights in a picture are only perceptible when there are darker shades. Observable data takes on meaning by the way that it is organized and interpreted, and such organization/interpretation may introduce bias, emphasis on "objectivity" may mask "subjective" influences. What we perceive is undoubtedly affected by our emotions and the influence of the bias of one wants to perceive- the pattern- seeking nature of our minds. Previous knowledge affects it, as sense perception cannot be utilized in a vacuum but alongside experiences.

Regardless of the fact that our senses open us up to various possibilities of knowledge our senses have limits and can at times mislead us (e.g. optical illusions, hallucinations).The biological constitution of a living organism influences, and at times limits its sense perception. Humans are for example only sensitive to certain ranges of stimuli e.g. 20Hz to 20 kHz define our minimum and maximum audibility ranges. Furthermore, sense perceptions are inarguably subject to expectations, assumptions and beliefs and where there are gaps in our perceptions, our imaginations fill them up in accordance with our expectations.

Still, the predominance of visual perception inclines the perceiver to ignore or insufficiently consider information that is obtained from other senses. We cease to see the things that we are familiar with, so that we do not perceive all that we should perceive, if we choose to rely only on our visual sense.

Reason involves a variety of elements that effectively results in the construction of meaning as a product of interactions of and amendments to ideas. Because reason must be coherent, consistent and based on logical validity and rigor, it is easier for the knower to provide justifications for his knowledge claims as they have resulted from a reproducible, chronological and rational series of thought processes. Reason thus allows the knower to escape the problems that feeling, imagining or wishing pose to him.

Reason does not depend upon the limits of sensory observation, it is checked by rules of logic and internal consistency in its least formal practice, this is often a "common sense" way of knowing. It enables one to determine why not how and allows for independence of thought.

Nonetheless, the fact that reason results form logical thought does not mean that reason is always universal and objective, or that it is based on laws of logic that are incontrovertible. In fact, at times our ability to reason is affected by emotions and reason cannot really be objective when foreknowledge is present. Beliefs affect our capacity to reason and recognize valid arguments, it is dependent on sufficiency and accuracy of facts, as flawed facts lead to flawed reasoning and insufficient information is likely to lead one to draw incorrect conclusions.

Again, reason works with abstractions that may be unrelated to the "real world we live in" by ignoring the details that other ways of knowing for example, sense perception may provide. Logical arguments may hide fallacies and rhetorical conceits as what at first may seem "logical" may turn out to be merely social/cultural convention.

Whether or not we choose to apply reason in order to come by knowledge the inextricably interwoven nature of sense perception and reason as ways of knowing as implied by Immanuel Kant when he said, “Concepts without perceptions are empty, perceptions without concepts are blind”, cannot be overemphasized.

Therefore it cannot be conclusively stated that with sense perception or reason one is universally more reliable than the other. It follows that in some situations sense perception provides the knower with the most accurate information and in other situations that sense knowledge must be acquired by employing the logic that reason affords. Nonetheless, one must maintain that these ways of knowing are not independent of each other but rather act as complimentary stages in the acquisition of knowledge and the justification of a knowled