The enigma of perception / D.L.C. Maclachlan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Maclachlan, D. L. C.

Series:

McGill-Queen's studies in the history of ideas ; 60.

McGill-Queen's studies in the history of ideas ; 60

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Perception (Philosophy).

Philosophy, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (204 p.)

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Part one. 1 The traditional theory demolished

2 The traditional theory comes back to life

3 Primary and secondary qualities

4 Primary qualities and the physical world

5 The private language argument

6 Other minds

Part two. 7 The origin of empirical belief

8 The search for the missing link

9 The nature of sense experience

10 The representation of reality

11 The presupposition of reality

12 The detailed knowledge of the world

13 The perception of the future

14 Additional ideas.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-7735-8841-8

OCLC:

841393691