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The Enigma of Perception |
eBook Available
An innovative exploration of how we acquire knowledge and the principle on which that theory depends.
How do we acquire knowledge through a sensory input from our environment? In The Enigma of Perception, D.L.C. Maclachlan revives the traditional causal representative theory of perception which dominated philosophical thinking for hundreds of years by revealing the important element of truth the theory contained.
The traditional theory was not a complete explanation of perception, because it presupposed a causal system including both the physical objects and the subjective experiences. The pattern of inference from sensations to external objects, which lies at its heart, is nevertheless legitimate, because the assumptions on which it depends are generally recognized as true. The emerging enigma is how to explain this original knowledge of the world on which the traditional theory depends. The key idea is that sense experience is constructed as a response to sensory input - an act whose purpose is to represent a reality beyond the cognitive subject.
The Enigma of Perception develops original ideas to explain this process in detail, with help from numerous philosophers from John Locke to David Chalmers.
The traditional theory was not a complete explanation of perception, because it presupposed a causal system including both the physical objects and the subjective experiences. The pattern of inference from sensations to external objects, which lies at its heart, is nevertheless legitimate, because the assumptions on which it depends are generally recognized as true. The emerging enigma is how to explain this original knowledge of the world on which the traditional theory depends. The key idea is that sense experience is constructed as a response to sensory input - an act whose purpose is to represent a reality beyond the cognitive subject.
The Enigma of Perception develops original ideas to explain this process in detail, with help from numerous philosophers from John Locke to David Chalmers.
Details
Part of the McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas Series (number 59 in series)
208 Pages, 6 x 9
ISBN 9780773541429
March 2013
Formats: Paperback, eBook
“The Enigma of Perception is a fascinating and sophisticated book that radically redefines and restores the causal representative theory of perception in a striking way. Its vigorous, engaging style and its striking originality make it a significant work that is full of surprises and one that should have a real impact on contemporary debate in the Anglo-American world.” James Bradley, Department of Philosophy, Memorial University
D.L.C. Maclachlan is professor emeritus of philosophy, Queen's University, and the author of Philosophy of Perception and Why Consciousness is Reality.
Preface xi
Part 1
1 the traditional theory Demolished 3
2 the traditional theory comes Back to Life 16
3 primary and Secondary Qualities 24
4 primary Qualities and the physical World 34
5 the private Language argument 42
6 other minds 60
Part 2
7 the origin of empirical Belief 73
8 the Search for the missing Link 93
9 the nature of Sense experience 108
10 the representation of reality 117
11 the presupposition of reality 126
12 the Detailed Knowledge of the World 138
13 the perception of the future 157
14 additional ideas 166
Bibliography 183
Part 1
1 the traditional theory Demolished 3
2 the traditional theory comes Back to Life 16
3 primary and Secondary Qualities 24
4 primary Qualities and the physical World 34
5 the private Language argument 42
6 other minds 60
Part 2
7 the origin of empirical Belief 73
8 the Search for the missing Link 93
9 the nature of Sense experience 108
10 the representation of reality 117
11 the presupposition of reality 126
12 the Detailed Knowledge of the World 138
13 the perception of the future 157
14 additional ideas 166
Bibliography 183
9780773544017
$37.95 CAD
Paperback
