Full Idea
The 'ecological' approach to perception resists the idea that our brains have to construct information about our environment by inference from sensations, because the information is already present in the environment, available to well-tuned senses.
Gist of Idea
'Ecological' approaches say we don't infer information, but pick it up directly from reality
Source
E.J. Lowe (Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind [2000], Ch. 6)
Book Reference
Lowe,E.J.: 'Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind' [CUP 2000], p.153
A Reaction
The psychologist J.J.Gibson is the source of this view. This pushes us towards direct realism, and away from representative theories, which are based too much on problems arising from illusions (which are freak cases). Interesting.