Final answer:
George Berkeley's idealist philosophy aligns with the statement that perception cannot exist without a perceiver, as he argues that objects are simply ideas that require a mind to be perceived.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement "A perception cannot exist without a perceiver" is closely associated with the philosophical theories that prioritize the role of the mind in constituting the nature of experience. This idea is deeply rooted in idealist philosophy, particularly that of George Berkeley, who argued that physical objects do not exist independently of the minds that perceive them. For Berkeley, physical objects are simply collections of ideas, which require a perceiver to exist. In essence, without a perceiver, these ideas would not manifest as perception. This concept is counter to direct realism, which suggests we have direct access to objects in the external world without the mediation of mental representations. However, even direct realists recognize that while we can directly perceive the world, this does not confirm the veracity of our beliefs about it, as illusions and hallucinations are possible. Perceptions are also not always a reliable source of true beliefs, as they can be influenced by a variety of factors, such as perceptual hypotheses informed by our experiences and expectations, as suggested by gestalt theory.