E-Book Overview
This volume traces the history of thinking about perception from its early philosophical roots to the modern laboratory. Some of the questions it considers have been asked since antiquity - Is what we see the truth? Are everyone's perceptual experiences the same? What is the nature of infants' perception? What kinds of mistakes are made in perceiving? Can perceptual experience be communicated to others? The author sets the groundwork with an explanation of the five senses and how science has come to observe them. He also explores the idea of perceptual error which becomes the lens through which the study of perception is viewed. This examination of perception is described in chapters devoted to historical periods from the Greeks to the present time following themes of adaptation and how the senses are linked to an intricately organized brain which not only helps us perceive what is necessary for survival, but also creates links from the patterns of sensory stimulation to language and thought.
E-Book Content
Perception and Illusion Historical Perspectives Library of the History of Psychological Theories Series Editor: Robert W. Rieber, City University of New York, New York, NY PERCEPTION AND ILLUSION Historical Perspectives Nicholas J. Wade A continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher. Perception and Illusion Historical Perspectives Nicholas J. Wade University of Dundee Dundee, United Kingdom Springer eBook ISBN: Print ISBN: 0-387-22723-7 0-387-22722-9 ©2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. Print ©2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. Dordrecht All rights reserved No part of this eBook