Perception, Realism, and the Problem of Reference

Perception, Realism, and the Problem of Reference PDF

Author: Athanassios Raftopoulos

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-04-12

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1107375932

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One of the perennial themes in philosophy is the problem of our access to the world around us; do our perceptual systems bring us into contact with the world as it is or does perception depend upon our individual conceptual frameworks? This volume of new essays examines reference as it relates to perception, action and realism, and the questions which arise if there is no neutral perspective or independent way to know the world. The essays discuss the nature of referring, concentrating on the way perceptual reference links us with the observable world, and go on to examine the implications of theories of perceptual reference for realism and the way in which scientific theories refer and thus connect us with the world. They will be of interest to a wide range of readers in philosophy of science, epistemology, philosophy of psychology, cognitive science and action theory.

The Problem of Perception

The Problem of Perception PDF

Author: A. D. Smith

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publishe

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9788120820241

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In a major Contribution to the theory of perception, A.D.Smith presents a truly original defense of direct realism the view that in perception we are directly aware of things in a physical world. It offers two arguements against direct realism-one conceening illusion, and one concerning hallueination that upto now no theory of perception could adequately rebut.At the heart of Smiths theory is a new way of drawing the distinction between perception and sensation alone with an unusual treatment of the nature of object of halluecination .

What It Is Like To Perceive

What It Is Like To Perceive PDF

Author: J. Christopher Maloney

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-06-15

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0190854774

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Naturalistic cognitive science, when realistically rendered, rightly maintains that to think is to deploy contentful mental representations. Accordingly, conscious perception, memory, and anticipation are forms of cognition that, despite their introspectively manifest differences, may coincide in content. Sometimes we remember what we saw; other times we predict what we will see. Why, then, does what it is like consciously to perceive, differ so dramatically from what it is like merely to recall or anticipate the same? Why, if thought is just representation, does the phenomenal character of seeing a sunset differ so stunningly from the tepid character of recollecting or predicting the sun's descent? J. Christopher Maloney argues that, unlike other cognitive modes, perception is in fact immediate, direct acquaintance with the object of thought. Although all mental representations carry content, the vehicles of perceptual representation are uniquely composed of the very objects represented. To perceive the setting sun is to use the sun and its properties to cast a peculiar cognitive vehicle of demonstrative representation. This vehicle's embedded referential term is identical with, and demonstrates, the sun itself. And the vehicle's self-attributive demonstrative predicate is itself forged from a property of that same remote star. So, in this sense, the perceiving mind is an extended mind. Perception is unbrokered cognition of what is real, exactly as it really is. Maloney's theory of perception will be of great interest in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science.

Perception

Perception PDF

Author: Adam Pautz

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-05-05

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1317676874

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A thorough, accessible introduction to philosophy of perception unlike competitors which are higher level or edited collections Lots of beneficial student features: chapter summaries, annotated further reading, glossary Perception is one of the most important enduring problems in philosophy, with lots of renewed interest as a result of advances in cognitive science and psychology Fascinating examples such as hallucination, illusion, blindsight, the reliability of introspection Excellent complement to our strong backllist in philosophy of mind

The Metaphysics of Perception

The Metaphysics of Perception PDF

Author: Paul Coates

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-09-12

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1134453159

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This book is an important study in the philosophy of the mind; drawing on the work of philosopher Wilfrid Sellars and the theory of critical realism to develop a novel argument for understanding perception and metaphysics.

Direct Realism

Direct Realism PDF

Author: D. Gram

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9400969082

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or their surfaces can be translated without remainder into descriptions of ob jects that are neither material objects or surfaces of any material object. All of these claims have historically conspired to discredit Direct Realism. But Direct Realism can accommodate all of the premises of the three argu ments without admitting any of their conclusions. Inferential perceptual knowl edge assumes a kind of knowledge that is not inferential. Without this assump tion, we are given a vicious infinite regress. But this is compatible with the fact that any case of non-inferential knowledge has a material objeCt as its object. The fact ofinfallible perceptual awareness fails to discredit DireCt Realism for similar reasons. Infallibility is a characteristic, not of the objects which we perceive, but rather of the acts by which we perceive them. And this permits an object of such awareness to be either material or something other than material. It does not fol low from the fact of infallibility that the objects of awareness must be other than material objects. And, finally, the fact of translatability shows at most that we either can or must simultaneously perceive material objects and entities which are not material objects. It does not show that the perception of the one is the same as the perception of the other. The entire argument rests, as we shall learn, on an illicit assimilation of the notions of sameness and equivalence.

A Naïve Realist Theory of Colour

A Naïve Realist Theory of Colour PDF

Author: Keith Allen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 0198755368

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A Naive Realist Theory of Colour defends the view that colours are mind-independent properties of things in the environment. Keith Allen argues that a naive realist theory of colour best explains how colours appear to perceiving subjects, and that this view is not undermined by our modern scientific understanding of the world.