Vision and Mind: Selected Readings in the Philosophy of Perception

The philosophy of perception is a microcosm of the metaphysics of mind. Its centralproblems--What is perception? What is the nature of perceptual consciousness? How can one fit anaccount of perceptual experience into a broader account of the nature of the mind and theworld?--are at the heart of metaphysics. Rather than try to cover all of the many strands in thephilosophy of perception, this book focuses on a particular orthodoxy about the nature of visualperception.The central problem for visual science has been to explain how the brain bridges the gapbetween what is given to the visual system and what is actually experienced by the perceiver. Theorthodox view of perception is that it is a process whereby the brain, or a dedicated subsystem ofthe brain, builds up representations of relevant figures of the environment on the basis ofinformation encoded by the sensory receptors. Most adherents of the orthodox view also believe thatfor every conscious perceptual state of the subject, there is a particular set of neurons whoseactivities are sufficient for the occurrence of that state. Some of the essays in this book defendthe orthodoxy; most criticize it; and some propose alternatives to it. Many of the essays areclassics. The contributors include, among others, G. E. M. Anscombe, Dana Ballard, Daniel Dennett,Fred Dretske, Jerry Fodor, H. P. Grice, David Marr, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Zenon Pylyshyn, PaulSnowdon, and P. F. Strawson.

Evan Thompson is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto.