Philosophy of Perception: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy) - Softcover

Fish, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 041599912X ISBN 13: 9780415999120

Publisher: Routledge, 2010

Synopsis

The philosophy of perception investigates the nature of our sensory experiences and their relation to reality. Raising questions about the conscious character of perceptual experiences, how they enable us to acquire knowledge of the world in which we live, and what exactly it is we are aware of when we hallucinate or dream, the philosophy of perception is a growing area of interest in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind.

William Fish’s Philosophy of Perception introduces the subject thematically, setting out the major theories of perception together with their motivations and attendant problems. While providing historical background to debates in the field, this comprehensive overview focuses on recent presentations and defenses of the different theories, and looks beyond visual perception to take into account the role of other senses.

Topics covered include:

• the phenomenal principle
• perception and hallucination
• perception and content
• sense-data, adverbialism and idealism
• disjunctivism and relationalism
• intentionalism and combined theories
• the nature of content
• veridicality
• perception and empirical science
• non-visual perception.

With summaries and suggested further reading at the end of each chapter, this is an ideal introduction to the philosophy of perception.

About this title

About the Author

William Fish is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Massey University, New Zealand.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 041599912X
• ISBN 13: 9780415999120
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 180