In philosophy, the veil of perception is a term used by 18th century philosopher John Locke to describe how we're trapped into seeing the world through our perceptions, and not as it really is. Instead of our "local perception", we would need an objective, or "God's eye view" of the world to be able to perceive reality without the added influence of our perceptual faculties.

The veil of perception describes a barrier that prevents first-hand knowledge of anything beyond it. The "veil" exists between the mind the the existing world. Many people simplify it by saying that you can only truely know yourself, and can only attempt to perceive anything outside of it.