prehension
/prɪˈhɛnʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
1 Zoology & Psychology The action of grasping or seizing.After prey capture is initiated, jaw prehension is used to ingest the prey item....
- In short, grasping food objects and small-diameter supports were probably key factors in the development of primate manual prehension.
- Prey were captured in water using jaw prehension, triggered by visual or tactile information.
2 Philosophy An interaction of a subject with an event or entity which involves perception but not necessarily cognition.Again, how far down you push a cultural background (or collective prehension) depends upon how far down you are willing to push individual prehension....
- So prehension is a ferment of qualitative valuation which need not necessarily be conscious.
Origin
Early 19th century: from Latin prehensio(n-), from prehendere 'to grasp'.