Contemporary Problems in the Philosophy of Perception

Imagine, if you will, that the entire community of investigators interested in the problems of perception all lived together in the same town. Some continual shuffling of neighbors would be inevitable, and there might be occasional episodes of mass relocation and energetic bulldozing, but after a while the residents would probably settle down and find themselves living in districts defined roughly by disciplinary boundaries. The experimental psychologists would occupy the newer part of town, laced with superhighways, workshops and factories, machines and measuring instruments, computers and overhead display units. But the town also has an Old City, marked by the complete absence of highways and factories, where the streets are lined with ancient hovels. There are, to be sure, some colossal palaces and museums in this part of town, breathtaking monuments to the grandeur of past centuries, but the current residents lack the inclination to construct such buildings, and many of the old palaces have been boarded up and condemned as unfit for human habitation. The somewhat scraggly and irascible inhabitants of this district have few viable economic enterprises, and no free markets, but rather organize themselves in units resembling nothing so much as medieval guilds. Congratulations. You have stumbled into the neighborhood where the philosophers live. If you are the sort who likes to stroll in strange cities, you might find it refreshing to stay for a short while and see what the residents are up to, before returning to your duties at the lab bench. This volume of essays, edited by Tim Crane, would serve well as a guide to contemporary developments. Humans have asked questions about perception ever since the species had the eyes to see and the wits to ask. While experimental psychologists moved decisively out of the Old City more than a century ago, there is still a communality of motive and considerable overlap in the areas of concern. And, surprisingly enough, there have been developments within the philosophical community which might interest those from the more prosperous districts. The book consists of nine essays written by philosophers, prefixed by an excellent introduction by the editor. The essays give a good sense of the range of contemporary analytic philosophy of perception. Topics include attempts to define the "immediate" object of perception, the distinction between qualitative and informational properties of experience, the structure of perceptual representation, the role of concepts, perceptual reference, sensory "fields", and the …