Molyneux asked whether a newly sighted man would recognize and distinguish a sphere and a cube by... more Molyneux asked whether a newly sighted man would recognize and distinguish a sphere and a cube by sight alone, assuming that he could previously do this by touch. The most historically important responses to Molyneux arise from views that apply uniformly to questions about the transferability of representations of (not just shape, but) any arbitrary feature shared by any two modalities. Our starting point is that this is over-simple. The scientific literature contains investigations of many such questions; some are answered positively, others negatively. The answer to each question is empirical and each has to be investigated separately. Given this fragmentation, we suggest that the most fruitful approach to MQ is “dimensional:” we identify and organize the problem around parameters that pose processing difficulties for various modalities, and ask how these difficulties affect MQ. This approach yields many novel MQs, some new, others re-applications of problems posed in other contexts.
Traditional theories of perception treat sensation as an image projected from the state of sensor... more Traditional theories of perception treat sensation as an image projected from the state of sensory receptors; more recently, cognitive scientists have focussed on how it is the result of data extraction. There are philosophical problems about how to accommodate the new paradigm: notably how to describe perceptual content in such a way as to preserve the epistemic innocence and egocentric perspective of the perceiver. The way to address this problem is to look at how perception is instinctively used, in particular, how it is used in order to gain knowledge about the world.
Colour vision has evolved independently in a variety of species. It is widely assumed that this i... more Colour vision has evolved independently in a variety of species. It is widely assumed that this is a case of convergence, of the same function appearing in separated phylogenetic paths. It is much more likely to be an instance of Darwin=s Principle of Divergence, that is, of a specialized function that enables a species to exploit an environmental resource unavailable to its less specialized ancestor. On this account, colour vision has a different function in phylogenetically unrelated occurrences. Moreover, it is much more closely integrated with its predecessor, that is, black-and-white vision, than we might intuitively think, the latter carrying a good deal of the burden in colour discrimination.
This is the editors' Introduction to a special issue of the journal, Multisensory Research. E... more This is the editors' Introduction to a special issue of the journal, Multisensory Research. European philosophers of the modern period found multisensory perception to be impossible because they thought that perceptual ideas are defined by how they are experienced. Under this conception, the individual modalities are determinables of ideas—just as colour is a determinable that embraces red and blue, so also the visual is a determinable that embraces colour and (visually experienced) shape. Since no idea is experienced as, for example, both visual and auditory, there can be no such thing as audiovisual perception. This conception of modality is not directly contested, but a variety of perceptual phenomena are listed that could raise interesting questions if treated as multimodal in origin
This is the accepted manuscript of a book chapter published by Oxford University Press. Reproduce... more This is the accepted manuscript of a book chapter published by Oxford University Press. Reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press.
Touch gives us tactile sensations that inform us of events that happen in and on our bodies (T), ... more Touch gives us tactile sensations that inform us of events that happen in and on our bodies (T), and haptic perception of things with which we are in direct or indirect contact (i.e. through intervening objects) (H). In the first part of this paper, I argue that these are distinct mental states (i.e. that T≠H). My strategy is to establish a double dissociation between T and H. Thus, it is possible to have similar sequences of tactile sensations T1 and T2, such that one yields a haptic perception and the other does not. And it is also possible to have the same haptic perception through different sequences of tactile sensations. This contradicts the idea that the switch from touch-awareness of one’s own body and touch-awareness of external objects is merely attentional: that being aware of something that you are touching is merely a matter of attending to your own body, but in a different way. In the second part of the chapter, I argue that tactile sensation does not represent space, ...
Vision is organized around material objects; they are most of what we see. But we also see beams ... more Vision is organized around material objects; they are most of what we see. But we also see beams of light, depictions, shadows, reflections, etc. These things look like material objects in many ways, but it is still visually obvious that they are not material objects. This chapter articulates some principles that allow us to understand how we see these ‘ephemera’. H.P. Grice’s definition of seeing is standard in many discussions; here I clarify and augment it with a criterion drawn from Fred Dretske. This enables me to re-analyse certain ephemera that have received counter-intuitive treatments in the work of Kendall Walton (photographs), Brian O’Shaughnessy (light), and Roy Sorenson (occlusions).
The Fifth Eriksholm Workshop on "Hearing Impairment and Cognitive Energy" was convened ... more The Fifth Eriksholm Workshop on "Hearing Impairment and Cognitive Energy" was convened to develop a consensus among interdisciplinary experts about what is known on the topic, gaps in knowledge, the use of terminology, priorities for future research, and implications for practice. The general term cognitive energy was chosen to facilitate the broadest possible discussion of the topic. It goes back to who described the effects of attention on perception; he used the term psychic energy for the notion that limited mental resources can be flexibly allocated among perceptual and mental activities. The workshop focused on three main areas: (1) theories, models, concepts, definitions, and frameworks; (2) methods and measures; and (3) knowledge translation. We defined effort as the deliberate allocation of mental resources to overcome obstacles in goal pursuit when carrying out a task, with listening effort applying more specifically when tasks involve listening. We adapted Kahne...
Endogenous depression is highly correlated with low levels of serotonin in the central nervous sy... more Endogenous depression is highly correlated with low levels of serotonin in the central nervous system. Does this imply or suggest that this sort of depression just is this neurochemical deficit? Scorning such an inference, Antonio Damasio writes:If feeling happy or sad … corresponds in part to the cognitive modes under which your thoughts are operating, then the explanation also requires that the chemical acts on the circuits which generate and manipulate [such thoughts]. Which means that reducing depression to a statement about the availability of serotonin or norepinephrine in general- a popular statement in the days and age of Prozac- is unacceptably rude (1995, 161).Damasio's thought is that depression is essentially a modification of how we perceive the world, reason about it, and make decisions about how to act in it - in other words, that it is essentially cognitive. A reduced level of serotonin might cause the said modification, but no adequate account of depression woul...
Denis Dutton's book The Art Instinct is a rich work of philosophy, a lively and intellectual... more Denis Dutton's book The Art Instinct is a rich work of philosophy, a lively and intellectually challenging read. Dutton's knowledge of art and culture is extraordinarily deep and cross-culturally rich-he is founder editor of the enormously successful cultural news aggregator, Arts and Letters Daily, has taken sitar lessons while a Peace Corps volunteer in India, has conducted anthropological field work in New Guinea-and this is just to skim the surface. He is also a clear and elegant writer and a passionate communicator. He is thus well-placed ...
In the first part of the paper (sections I-III), I describe and discuss a kind of knowledge-gathe... more In the first part of the paper (sections I-III), I describe and discuss a kind of knowledge-gathering activity that I call sensory exploration, and motivate the notion that it eliminates grounds for empirical doubt. Sensory exploration is a distinctive source of knowledge, hitherto unrecognized by philosophers. It relies (of course) on the senses; I'll argue, further, that it does not rely on background non-sensory beliefs. It involves sensory experience (which has been discussed extensively in the philosophical literature), but, as I shall show, it cannot be reduced to sensory ...
Molyneux asked whether a newly sighted man would recognize and distinguish a sphere and a cube by... more Molyneux asked whether a newly sighted man would recognize and distinguish a sphere and a cube by sight alone, assuming that he could previously do this by touch. The most historically important responses to Molyneux arise from views that apply uniformly to questions about the transferability of representations of (not just shape, but) any arbitrary feature shared by any two modalities. Our starting point is that this is over-simple. The scientific literature contains investigations of many such questions; some are answered positively, others negatively. The answer to each question is empirical and each has to be investigated separately. Given this fragmentation, we suggest that the most fruitful approach to MQ is “dimensional:” we identify and organize the problem around parameters that pose processing difficulties for various modalities, and ask how these difficulties affect MQ. This approach yields many novel MQs, some new, others re-applications of problems posed in other contexts.
Traditional theories of perception treat sensation as an image projected from the state of sensor... more Traditional theories of perception treat sensation as an image projected from the state of sensory receptors; more recently, cognitive scientists have focussed on how it is the result of data extraction. There are philosophical problems about how to accommodate the new paradigm: notably how to describe perceptual content in such a way as to preserve the epistemic innocence and egocentric perspective of the perceiver. The way to address this problem is to look at how perception is instinctively used, in particular, how it is used in order to gain knowledge about the world.
Colour vision has evolved independently in a variety of species. It is widely assumed that this i... more Colour vision has evolved independently in a variety of species. It is widely assumed that this is a case of convergence, of the same function appearing in separated phylogenetic paths. It is much more likely to be an instance of Darwin=s Principle of Divergence, that is, of a specialized function that enables a species to exploit an environmental resource unavailable to its less specialized ancestor. On this account, colour vision has a different function in phylogenetically unrelated occurrences. Moreover, it is much more closely integrated with its predecessor, that is, black-and-white vision, than we might intuitively think, the latter carrying a good deal of the burden in colour discrimination.
This is the editors' Introduction to a special issue of the journal, Multisensory Research. E... more This is the editors' Introduction to a special issue of the journal, Multisensory Research. European philosophers of the modern period found multisensory perception to be impossible because they thought that perceptual ideas are defined by how they are experienced. Under this conception, the individual modalities are determinables of ideas—just as colour is a determinable that embraces red and blue, so also the visual is a determinable that embraces colour and (visually experienced) shape. Since no idea is experienced as, for example, both visual and auditory, there can be no such thing as audiovisual perception. This conception of modality is not directly contested, but a variety of perceptual phenomena are listed that could raise interesting questions if treated as multimodal in origin
This is the accepted manuscript of a book chapter published by Oxford University Press. Reproduce... more This is the accepted manuscript of a book chapter published by Oxford University Press. Reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press.
Touch gives us tactile sensations that inform us of events that happen in and on our bodies (T), ... more Touch gives us tactile sensations that inform us of events that happen in and on our bodies (T), and haptic perception of things with which we are in direct or indirect contact (i.e. through intervening objects) (H). In the first part of this paper, I argue that these are distinct mental states (i.e. that T≠H). My strategy is to establish a double dissociation between T and H. Thus, it is possible to have similar sequences of tactile sensations T1 and T2, such that one yields a haptic perception and the other does not. And it is also possible to have the same haptic perception through different sequences of tactile sensations. This contradicts the idea that the switch from touch-awareness of one’s own body and touch-awareness of external objects is merely attentional: that being aware of something that you are touching is merely a matter of attending to your own body, but in a different way. In the second part of the chapter, I argue that tactile sensation does not represent space, ...
Vision is organized around material objects; they are most of what we see. But we also see beams ... more Vision is organized around material objects; they are most of what we see. But we also see beams of light, depictions, shadows, reflections, etc. These things look like material objects in many ways, but it is still visually obvious that they are not material objects. This chapter articulates some principles that allow us to understand how we see these ‘ephemera’. H.P. Grice’s definition of seeing is standard in many discussions; here I clarify and augment it with a criterion drawn from Fred Dretske. This enables me to re-analyse certain ephemera that have received counter-intuitive treatments in the work of Kendall Walton (photographs), Brian O’Shaughnessy (light), and Roy Sorenson (occlusions).
The Fifth Eriksholm Workshop on "Hearing Impairment and Cognitive Energy" was convened ... more The Fifth Eriksholm Workshop on "Hearing Impairment and Cognitive Energy" was convened to develop a consensus among interdisciplinary experts about what is known on the topic, gaps in knowledge, the use of terminology, priorities for future research, and implications for practice. The general term cognitive energy was chosen to facilitate the broadest possible discussion of the topic. It goes back to who described the effects of attention on perception; he used the term psychic energy for the notion that limited mental resources can be flexibly allocated among perceptual and mental activities. The workshop focused on three main areas: (1) theories, models, concepts, definitions, and frameworks; (2) methods and measures; and (3) knowledge translation. We defined effort as the deliberate allocation of mental resources to overcome obstacles in goal pursuit when carrying out a task, with listening effort applying more specifically when tasks involve listening. We adapted Kahne...
Endogenous depression is highly correlated with low levels of serotonin in the central nervous sy... more Endogenous depression is highly correlated with low levels of serotonin in the central nervous system. Does this imply or suggest that this sort of depression just is this neurochemical deficit? Scorning such an inference, Antonio Damasio writes:If feeling happy or sad … corresponds in part to the cognitive modes under which your thoughts are operating, then the explanation also requires that the chemical acts on the circuits which generate and manipulate [such thoughts]. Which means that reducing depression to a statement about the availability of serotonin or norepinephrine in general- a popular statement in the days and age of Prozac- is unacceptably rude (1995, 161).Damasio's thought is that depression is essentially a modification of how we perceive the world, reason about it, and make decisions about how to act in it - in other words, that it is essentially cognitive. A reduced level of serotonin might cause the said modification, but no adequate account of depression woul...
Denis Dutton's book The Art Instinct is a rich work of philosophy, a lively and intellectual... more Denis Dutton's book The Art Instinct is a rich work of philosophy, a lively and intellectually challenging read. Dutton's knowledge of art and culture is extraordinarily deep and cross-culturally rich-he is founder editor of the enormously successful cultural news aggregator, Arts and Letters Daily, has taken sitar lessons while a Peace Corps volunteer in India, has conducted anthropological field work in New Guinea-and this is just to skim the surface. He is also a clear and elegant writer and a passionate communicator. He is thus well-placed ...
In the first part of the paper (sections I-III), I describe and discuss a kind of knowledge-gathe... more In the first part of the paper (sections I-III), I describe and discuss a kind of knowledge-gathering activity that I call sensory exploration, and motivate the notion that it eliminates grounds for empirical doubt. Sensory exploration is a distinctive source of knowledge, hitherto unrecognized by philosophers. It relies (of course) on the senses; I'll argue, further, that it does not rely on background non-sensory beliefs. It involves sensory experience (which has been discussed extensively in the philosophical literature), but, as I shall show, it cannot be reduced to sensory ...
The evolution of Homo sapiens in the past million years is not just a history of how we came to h... more The evolution of Homo sapiens in the past million years is not just a history of how we came to have acute color vision, a taste for sweets, and an upright gait. It is also a story of how we became a species obsessed with creating artistic experiences with which to amuse, shock, titillate, and enrapture ourselves, from children's games to the quartets of Beethoven, from firelit caves to the continuous worldwide glow of television screens.(2-3)
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