The phrase "a distinct perception of" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing a clear or unique understanding or interpretation of something.
Example: "Her artwork provides a distinct perception of the emotions experienced during the pandemic."
Alternatives: "a clear understanding of" or "a unique interpretation of".
Distinct knowledge, which is a distinct perception of harmony, satisfies the distinct inclinations of reason.
In contrast, an intellectual pleasure, such as the pleasure of knowing the fundamental order of reality, is a distinct perception of perfection.
A sweet piece of fruit cannot satisfy a desire for perfection in the natural world any more than a distinct perception of harmony in the natural world can satisfy a bodily desire for nourishment.
In Bristol, it is easy to find the same sense of disaffection and a distinct perception that renting carries a stigma.
In the Sixth Meditation itself he arrives at a clear and distinct perception of mind as an immaterial substance and body as a material non-thinking substance and is immediately struck by the union of his mind and body: "It is true that I may have… a body that is very closely joined to me" (AT 7 78, CSM 2 54).
On the other hand, when a truth is delivered to us from an authority, and we do not have a clear and distinct perception of the truth, then our wills are not compelled by the idea.
The secret of that certainty is just that it involved "a clear and distinct perception of what I am asserting".
We have a clear and distinct perception of something if, when we consider it, we cannot doubt it (7:145).
When presented with a clear and distinct perception of what is true, the will is compelled to assent to it.
Descartes' answer: "In this first item of knowledge [cognitione] there is simply a clear and distinct perception of what I am asserting" (ibid).
The two key ideas that Wolff takes from Leibniz are, first, the characterization of sensory perception as a clear but confused rather than distinct perception of things that could, at least in principle, be known both clearly and distinctly by the intellect; and, second, the characterization of pleasure as the sensory, and thus clear but confused, perception of the perfection of things.
